MALLORY McCREA

For three years Mallory McCrea lived in a 100 sq. foot space with her husband and four cats.  The room was cramped but the scenery was fantastic.  The McCrea’s were nomads, living and working out of their camper as they traveled through the southern and western United States.  They returned to Canton every summer to photograph enough weddings to keep them on the road.

Mallory was always a bit adventurous growing up as an artsy kid in Sandy Valley.  Her parents owned a construction business and she wanted to grow up to be an art teacher.  Kent State University was the first step, but she ended up taking a turn toward doing art rather than teaching.   

By combining her interest in art with business classes she earned a degree in Integrative Studies and started her own photography business in 2010.  She’d been interested in photography since her mother handed her a 35mm film camera in elementary school.  She still remembers one photo of a squirrel because it was actually in focus.

Her artistic interests were, however, a bit more adventurous.  She always considered herself a multi-disciplinary artist. Her passion was oil painting but she could often be found drawing, hand-building pottery for her home and writing. Anxious to see the wider world they began living a minimalistic life and eventually sold everything they owned to head out on the open road.

If it all sounds romantic, in many ways it was.  However, eventually 100 sq. ft. started to feel a bit cramped. Both wanted more room to pursue individual artistic pursuits.  They returned to Canton, bought a small fixer-upper ranch house and shifted their priorities. They created a painting studio and photo room in their home.  Justin became a full-time professor of animation and game design at Kent State and Mallory finished her graduate degree, now less dependent on weddings and more focused on the things she likes to do.  Soon Erica Emerson approached her about teaching a photography class at the Canton Museum of Art’s School of Art.

Although teaching was always part of her psyche, she had never taken photography classes, herself, until graduate school.  The School of Art had previously offered photography classes, but Mallory set about doing things her way.  Beginners and people new to digital photography made up her first class.  Mallory wanted to teach them how to take photographs in manual setting, to have control of their camera.  Their first homework assignment was to read their User Manuals. Sounds simple enough, but how many people actually do it?  

As the class progressed and Mallory got to know the students, she set up critique sessions often using the work of famous photographers to help students see what was possible and what was good.  Mallory’s hands-on teaching style helped them learn through practice.  For the last session she rented a downtown studio to help students explore composition and different effects.

As Mallory and Justin McCrea build their artistic lives in Canton, the adventure bug hasn’t totally left them.  There are still a few northeastern states they haven’t slept in, more art-related paths to explore and miles to go before they rest. And hopefully many more students to teach!