Mary Kathryn Hall, known by many as MK, was already busy as a freelance artist, mom of a toddler, and part-time curator and office assistant at the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum.

She was recently chosen for an additional job there: activities manager for Festival Halle.

Hall will be responsible for booking events at Festival Halle, the former school in town that the museum (under the umbrella of the Greater Reedville Association) is preparing to reopen after a multi-year top-to-bottom renovation.

The facility will be available for proms, weddings, parties and so forth, as it was before being closed for restoration.

Hall recently finished painting a large fiberglass pair of waterman’s boots to be displayed at the museum. “It encompasses what it feels like when you’re in Reedville … all the things you see when you’re in Reedville, especially out on the water.”

Hall, a Reedville native and current resident, included the historic Morris-Fisher Stack, menhaden fish boats, a heron, the Elva C. and Claud W. Somers (two of the museum’s fleet), a buoy, a spotter plane, the old lighthouse at Fleeton Point and more. The boots sit on a base on which she painted oyster shells. People can stand in the boots for pictures.

The boots were donated by Michael and Michele Torbert of Reedville.

“It was an honor to be chosen for the project by the museum and the Torberts,” said Hall. “I am grateful to have been able to leave a mark in my community for generations.”

After graduating from Northumberland High School in 2016, she attended Christopher Newport University in Newport News and then lived and worked in Williamsburg. Like other young people who grew up on the Northern Neck, she eventually wanted to come back to her roots, to the community that she loves and to be near her family.

Photo: Reedville Fishermen’s Museum “I love the close-knit community feeling, as well as the support of my family. Reedville is a special place,” she said. Her family on both sides has lived here and worked on the water for many generations. “My family runs really deep through the menhaden fishing industry.”

Hall has been drawing and painting since she can remember but hasn’t had formal training. She became serious about her freelance art career in July 2025 by posting pictures of her work on social media. Now she has projects booked through August.

“I paint on anything,” she said. Besides on paper or canvas: bikes, sculptures, mailboxes, clothes, shoes, murals inside and out (like on the exterior wall of Abloom florist in Burgess), business signs, mirrors and banners. “Embellishing Bible covers has been a big hit,” she said.

“I am so grateful for the community’s support,” Hall said. She takes commissioned artwork through her email, mkhall.art@gmail.com.