MOOSE MOUNTAIN PROVINCIAL PARK - Another well-known face will be attending the Artist's Colony of Moose Mountain Provincial Park this summer.
Mary MacKenzie is an artist from Saskatoon, but was born and raised in Calgary. Her family has owned a cabin at White Bear Resort for many years, and as a child, she loved going to the cabin during the summer months.
MacKenzie graduated from Grade 12 and furthered her education by attending the Alberta College of Arts in Calgary, where she graduated with a four-year diploma in visual communication, graphic design and illustration, with a minor in photography.
In high school, she took elective arts, English and drama, but it was her art teacher that was instrumental in her decision to pursue some form of art education.
MacKenzie’s father insisted that she work on a career that allowed her to support herself after she graduated.
This was great advice from her father, and she took his suggestion when the time came. She was able to work from home as a freelance illustrator.
MacKenzie and her husband Hugh raised their two children in Saskatoon but continued to come to the family cabin at White Bear with their kids.
Her son Michael and wife Kristina are teachers in Calgary and have two children, Emma and William, while her daughter Kate and her partner live in Vancouver. Kate works for the Nature Conservancy of Canada and Greg is an early childhood educator.
When MacKenzie retired – and through the COVID-19 years – she began exploring with online learning, taking various courses from some enthusiastic artists who were willing to share their knowledge. This gave her the chance to explore her love of painting.
MacKenzie loves to interpret how she feels through her subject, which she considers intuitive abstract. She paints mainly with acrylic, and drawing is an especially important aspect to her expression in her art. There is a lot of exploration going on in her sketchbook, as she is always looking to discover the nudge that will take an idea further into her formal work.
Recently she has been drawn to painting chairs on canvas using acrylic, and to gain texture has used kitchen tools, a plasterer’s trowel or orbit sander.
The chairs are completed in different shapes, sizes and colours, and she feels this honours their stories and history.
“We all have talismans of some sort that keep us grounded, and for me, my favourite chair means conversation, connection and family,” said MacKenzie.
She is always looking for different textures, tools and colours to create what is set in her mind for the day.
“Conversations are the best things that come out of art created from the heart,” she said. “It is always a joy to discover and discuss what the viewer sees and feels.”
MacKenzie will be the Artist Colony in Cabin 10 from Aug 6-12. It's not her first appearance, as she helped her brother out when he was unable to attend, so she talked about his art and brought some of her own.
She looks forward to meeting many people and having these conversations with the guests that will grace her cabin.
