Mary first used a portapak in the early 1970s in New York City where she experimented with dancers to create choreography for screen. In 1973 she was invited to London to use video with the newly emerging Dance Department at Goldsmiths College. She worked on various projects in England and Europe over the next few years, including a tape about The International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women (Brussels1976). She joined the Albany Video Project the same year. She returned to the US in December 1979 to pursue her interest in mental health care.