Mary’s Story

Mary was born in Portland and graduated from Catlin Gabel School. Her interest in the arts came naturally, as her mother was a noted bookbinder and her father a well-known architect.  She went on to graduate from Radcliffe College and began a career in calligraphy in Boston. 

After moving to Portland in 1975, Mary studied with Lloyd Reynolds at the Museum Art School and with Lois McClelland at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts (OSAC). After she joined the faculty at OSAC, she was appointed interim director, then served as executive director from 1983-1987.  Mary also erved on the PSC board for one year. 

Mary enrolled at Columbia University in 1987 and received her Master’s of Fine Arts in Arts and Administration in 1991. She stayed in New York, dividing her time between volunteer work with the American Crafts Council and other crafts-related organizations, and her position as director of development for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. 

Her calligraphic art was exhibited frequently and is included in the permanent collections of the Portland Art Museum and in private collections in Portland, Boston and New York. 

Written using an article by June Maffin of Scribes Memorial on Facebook, and an article written by Inga Dubay for the 1995 Valley Calligraphy Guild Newsletter.