Mary Cay's first memory of clay was as a six-year old child when a visiting artist in elementary school taught her how to make pinch, coil, and slab pots.  The teacher chose her shiny red pinch pot, complete with lid and knob, to be exhibited at the 1961 Yellowstone County Fair in Billings Montana, an event that set a future career in motion.

Cay's work has been published in American Artist magazine.  In 2002 Ceramics Monthly magazine featured Cay as an American Emerging Artist and published her work again in 2006 by focusing on her development of Kiln Jewels. The Lark Book 500 Bowls, Contemporary Exploration of a Timeless Design featured both her sculptural and functional ceramic bowls, including one on the inside of the jacket cover.  Her ceramic sculptures and functional ware are in private and corporate collections and the artwork has traveled nationally and internationally.