Mary Philpott

Mary’s work explores Wildlife and the Natural World, as influenced by the world of Myth and Folklore, through visual Storytelling. The animals and birds that she portrays in her three-dimensional portraits become removed from their natural environment, and are placed for consideration as individuals, placed in the unnatural setting of the human environment.

Many of the subjects Mary depicts are immediately influenced by Fairy tales and Mythology of the Celts, as well as her readings in both fiction and non fiction; history and cultural ecology, and poetry.

Mary grew up in Oakville Ontario, and studied Art History at the University of Guelph, and spent some time at McMaster University doing Archeology and Anthropology before discovering her love for clay and textile design.

She attended the School of Crafts and Design at Sheridan College, and then began a residency at the Harbourfront Craft Studios before opening her own teaching studio in Toronto.

In 2002 she moved to Stratford and had a tile design studio there until 2015, when she had moved her studio to Uxbridge to live on an old farm. Mary’s studio practice moved to become predominantly sculptural work in 2011. Mary has attended Artist Residencies in Canada, the USA and France, with future plans for next years residency in Toulouse, southwest France. Her work is shown and collected internationally in both private and public collections.