I began weaving tapestries 40 years ago.

This is not the career path upon which I set out all those years ago. My high school education was geared towards the sciences. While at university I discovered that science was not the right path for me; rather I followed my heart and went to art college.

During my art college years I discovered that I enjoyed the creative complexity of colour theory and 2D design principles; I also discovered that I enjoyed the complexity and logic of woven structures. Tapestry is - for me - the ideal combination of creativity, design, and weaving.

In 1985 I graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, AB. After 10 years of studio practice, I returned to school and received my MA, Textiles from Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK in 1995.

You will see in my portfolio that I have woven many tapestries during the past 40 years. There is great difference between the work of then and now; there is, however, a common thread running throughout: I have always designed my tapestries so that they reference textiles if not specifically tapestries. In some works I have made direct reference to medieval tapestries in both imagery and technique, but there are also more subtle illusions to cloth through the use of patterning and even the use of a woven border. It is very important to me that my concepts and imagery are always best realized in a woven form. (I don’t always succeed ;-)

In 2015, I was named a Master Artisan by Craft Nova Scotia. I was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2019. In 2024, I was honoured to receive a King Charles III Coronation Medal for my volunteer work with L’Arche Antigonish. I was also honoured to receive the St. Francis Xavier University Award for a Community-Engaged Scholar. I currently weave and live Antigonish, NS: Nalikitquniejk Mi’kma’ki, the unceded ancestral territory of the Mi'kmaw people.

The stylized spider at the top of the screen - combining my initials: “M” and “G” - is my logo that I weave into each tapestry.

I have written articles and book chapters about my studio work; often contextualized by life experience as an artist. I have also presented numerous in-person and online artist’s talks. When writing and speaking about my own practice, it is important to me to highlight the energy and scope of contemporary tapestry-weaving practice.

Here is a link to my January 25, 2022 online interview with Kathi Grupp, Marketing Manager of the Handweavers Guild of America Textiles and Tea Series. This hour-long interview and Q&A opens in a new window.

Please refer to my complete CV (.pdf).