As far back as I can remember, I have always drawn and painted. I taught school for many years in Winnipeg, and also toured as an artist with the Manitoba Arts Council’s “Artist-in-Schools- Program. After graduating from Fine Arts in 1994, I enjoyed renting a studio in Winnipeg’s Exchange District. My art installation “The Skin of this Planet” has been shown in Winnipeg at Gallery 111, and in Inuvik, NWT and won 2nd prize at a video art exhibition in Edmonton. My paintings and prints have been exhibited at group and juried shows in Winnipeg, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Ace Art and Cinemateque and in Ottawa, and Barcelona, Spain and on the Internet. For several years I worked as a visiting artist in hospice and palliative care settings, and have written a book about my experiences, called “Now I Know The World Is Round: Stories at the End of Life.”
Storytelling has been my main art form for a long time, but since moving onto our farm near River Hills 5 years ago, I have opened the Ladyslipper Art Studio on the property and returned to drawing, painting, and teaching art in the Eastman area. My acrylic painting won second prize at the 2017 Eastman Judged Art Show.
I am a storyteller, visual artist, and musician. I love the old mythologies and folktales, and the ways in which they can still speak to us. I like to think that all the elements of life can be found in the creative arts — the commonplace transformed into the extraordinary through our imagination and the skill of the artist. All art forms tell a story.
Mary Louise is available by appointment if you would like to see her art:
Website: Mary Louise Chown
Phone: 204 510 0693