Using an array of media, former Creativity Explored artist Mary Belknap (b. 1944) subjects each artwork to her rigorous patterning and mark making. She uses repeated small marks to coalesce into larger structures while discrete bits of color generate action and movement. Her short swatches of scribbled color and intersections of loose lines make her work hover between the formal and the gestural. In her time at Creativity Explored, starting in 1995, her style evolved to open up more white space, and her palette softened from one of electric vibrancy into a quiet elegance.

Belknap’s work was chosen by CB2 as the basis for a limited edition rug and was also featured in Create, a traveling exhibition that first opened at UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in 2011. Belknap was nominated for SFMOMA's prestigious SECA Art Award in 2012.