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Mary
Profitt began her work in jewellery in a small repair shop in Fredericton, New
Brunswick, where she grew up. Travelling the next year to Calgary, Alberta, she
entered into an apprenticeship, training under Danish Master Goldsmith Kirsten
Ross for four years. She went on to set up a studio under her own name in
Barrie, Ontario. Mary made jewellery while expanding her gallery to
include the works of other artists. During this next 15 years she also
participated in exhibitions, solo and group shows, and worked to promote art and
fine craft in the area. Her jewellery has been
featured
in Flare, Chatelaine and Homemaker’s magazines.
During a seven year
hiatus from jewellery making, Mary went on to work in fibre arts - spinning,
weaving, felt making, and dyeing fabrics. She produces large art quilts,
drawing on her years of design experience. For four years she ran a morning
fibre arts workshop for adults with special needs within the organization of
Camphill Communities.
In 2004 Mary went
back to the bench, starting with a solo show, “New Work – Returning to Metal” at
the Maclaren Art Center Gallery. She now sells her jewellery in art and fine
craft galleries across Canada. She also continues to work with fibre arts,
planning to produce several art quilts each year and has focused this design
work around hand dyed fabrics.
In 2005
Mary became a creativity coach, studying with Eric Maisel, author of Fearless
Creating and The Van Gogh Blues. She has worked with writers, painters and
craftspeople, helping them to move past blocks and challenges to recommit to
their daily studio work.
Mary has an affinity
for two very different design styles – the clean lines and geometric shapes of
modern art and the layered richness of ethnic and tribal art. She works to give
both styles expression in her pieces.
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