About Mary Dixon

Biography

Born in Montreal in 1960, Mary has called Nova Scotia home since 1971. After a brief career detour as a lawyer, Mary sought a creatively different career path, pursuing a lifelong interest in photography that was encouraged by her former partner, a photojournalist.

Mary's work includes fine art prints in alternative processes such as Polaroid Transfer and hand-coloured black and white as well as colour digital images. However these alternative media are becoming rare or non-existent as Kodak ceased producing black & white infrared film in 2007 and Polaroid has ceased production of the films for both SX-70's and Polaroid transfers. This is forcing her hand to move more toward digital image capture, and she has embraced it in rendering beautiful landscape and garden images primarily as she is not drawn to doing manipulated imagery on the computer.

Until recently Mary provided studio photography to regional artists and artisans, portraits for local performers, business people and families and the occasional freelance assignment, however is abandoning the commercial work to focus on her art. Mary is a member of Visual Arts Nova Scotia and was a member of the ViewPoint Gallery co-op of photographers in Halifax for it's first seven years.

She now exhibits and sells directly from her home-based gallery, Third Eye Gallery on her small lavender farm in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.

Photographic Education

Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, Santa Fe, New Mexico:

  • 2001 'Creative Polaroid Imagery', by John Reuter, fine-artist and worldwide manager, Polaroid 20x24 Studio in NYC.
  • 1996 'Creative Lighting Techniques', by Bob D'Amico, publicity photographer for ABC Television.
  • 1995 'Black & White Portraits', by David Michael Kennedy, fine-art landscape & celebrity portrait photographer.

Maine Photographic Workshops, Rockport, Maine:

  • 1998 'Intimate Portrait', by Joyce Tenneson, fine-art photographer.
  • 1997 'The Handmade Photograph', by Elizabeth Opalenik, fine-art photographer.
  • 1997 'The Extended Portrait', by Bob Sacha, National Geographic and corporate photographer.
  • 1993 'Cultures and the Landscape', by Chris Johns, National Geographic photographer.

Publication

  • Mary's work has been published in "Outdoor Canada Magazine", "Hearsay", the Dalhousie Law Alumni magazine, Amos Pewter catalogues and flyers, Studio Rally Guide, the book Studio Rally, "Entrepreneur" Magazine, The Nova Scotia Doer's and Dreamer's Guide, Harbourfront Centre's Milk International Children's Festival publicity, Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival publicity, "Shunpiking" Magazine, NS Worker's Compensation Board annual reports, and stock photos in various calendars, brochures, and web sites.

Permanent Collections

  • Sherman Hines Museum of Photography & Galleries, Liverpool, NS.
  • Various personal collections across Canada and the United States.

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2007 Viewpoint Gallery, "Earth Air Water Spirit", Black & White Infrared Prints, Halifax, NS.
  • 2003 Sherman Hines Museum of Photography, "Tropicana", Polaroid Transfer Prints, Liverpool, NS.
  • 2003 Viewpoint Gallery, "Tropicana", Polaroid Transfer Prints, Halifax, NS.
  • 2001 ViewPoint Gallery, "Dreamscapes", hand-coloured infrared prints, Halifax, NS.
  • 2000 Sherman Hines Museum of Photography , hand-coloured infrared prints, Liverpool, NS.
  • 1999 South Shore Festival of the Arts 'Open House' at Mary's studio, hand-coloured infrared prints and Polaroid transfers.

Group Exhibitions

  • 2003 Argyle Fine Art , "Alternatives", jointly with ViewPoint Gallery, Halifax, NS.
  • 2003 Lunenburg Art Gallery, "Lunenburg Viewfinders", 4-person show, Lunenburg, NS.
  • 2002/3 DesBrisay Museum, Bridgewater Photo Society 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Bridgewater, NS.
  • 2002 ViewPoint Gallery, "Endless Summer", "Terra Firma" & "Fete 2002" member shows, Halifax, NS.
  • 2002 South Shore Members "Quick & Dirty" Art Show & Sale, Mahone Bay, NS.
  • 2001 VANS Corridor Gallery, Photopolis show, Halifax.
  • 2001 ViewPoint Gallery, "Aqua Lumina" and "Solstice" shows, Halifax.
  • 2000 ViewPoint Gallery, co-op members' opening show and on-going exhibits, Halifax.
  • 2000 Bridgewater Photographic Society at Hillside Pines Gallery, Bridgewater.
  • 1999 Dalhousie University Annual Student, Staff & Alumni Exhibition, Dal Arts Centre, Halifax.
  • 1999 Bridgewater Photographic Society at Hillside Pines Gallery, Bridgewater.
  • 1998 Bridgewater Photographic Society 15th Anniversary Print Exhibition, DesBrisay Museum, Bridgewater.