mary collier fleet

Dates: March 6th - March 20th

I once lived in a town where Art was mayor. Art was blind in one eye and had one leg shorter than the other. He  drove an old Cadillac, careening along the back roads, spitting gravel. Art was a menace. Art was dangerous. No  one said anything though because of Art’s afflictions. Art’s wild ways were understandable. Still. I can say truthfully  that Art and art almost killed me a number of times.

I persisted. I was born a maker. 

And although I have taken the circuitous route to my original intent I like how it has shaped my thinking and made  me a bit feisty about definitions of, say, success. If you’ve reached this point, you’re asking, how is this a bio?

Here you go:  

• born on the shortest darkest day of the year in Toronto general hospital.  
• have three brothers so learned to both blend in and fight
• art school drop-out (for feminist reasons)
• lived on Vancouver Island for four years and when asked if I was going to stay, said, I don’t know, I always  liked New Brunswick
• journalism compensation degree aka be practical, they said. (Ottawa)
• married an egg-head
• birthed two magnificent creative beautiful beasts
• moved to an old church in Renforth, NB carting along the ashes of fourth generation Saint John born, Bill, our  large shaggy dog Zorg and guinea pigs Coco and Beaver – fun fact guinea pigs can live to be 15  • back to making and trying to stay warm.
• listed as an artist to watch in East magazine by Sarah Jones
• a few exhibits:

Finalist and winner at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy. My illustrations for the Italo Calvino  celebration toured 17 countries in a group show

• confidence gained from international assessment
• make make make
• mess mess mess
• getting a puppy on Saturday

Regrets: being too afraid to have dinner with Edward Albee when I realized it was just me and Riduan Tomkins and  Edward Albee so I stood outside the house with my bottle of wine hoping they would see me and pull me from my  fear. They didn’t. I stood up Edward Albee.

Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf? Probably me.

mary collier fleet