A Personal Calligraphy

Mary Pratt, famous for her luminous paintings, is also a lifelong writer. From childhood, she has kept journals and written short reflections on any topic that crossed her mind. Since the 1980s, she has given addresses and published essays in periodicals as diverse as The Globe and Mail and Glass Gazette. Mary Pratt: A Personal Calligraphy features ten speeches and published articles, along with thirty-five essays and reflections that, until now, remained hidden in her journals. Some of the journal entries are on topical matters such as Joey Smallwood's funeral and the fiftieth anniversary of Newfoundland's Confederation with Canada. Others tell more personal stories of growing up in Fredericton, of juggling painting and motherhood in Salmonier, Newfoundland, of a winter's sojourn in Vancouver, of the natural rhythms of her home and garden in St. John's. and, of course, Pratt reflects on the images that interest her and influence her art and on the process of painting. Like her painting, her writing is accessible yet profound. Even at its most meditative, it is incisive and original, the work of a powerful artist who both celebrates and sharply examines the stuff of daily life. Exhibitions from St. John's to Vancouver have brought Mary Pratt's paintings to the attention of a wide audience. With more than thirty colour reproductions of works from the 1990s, A Personal Calligraphy is a glimpse into Mary Pratt's creative mind.