BIO

Mackenzie Merritt

Artist

b. 1982 | Grew up in Princeton, NJ

2004 | Graduated from Lafayette College, Easton, PA

Currently works out of her studio in South Carolina

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The M. Merritt Collection began without a grand plan, simply out of a desire to add color to the walls of our first home after moving to Greensboro, NC in 2010. What started as a practical way to fill empty spaces quickly ignited a deep love for painting and design.

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Then, motherhood arrived. With my first child, painting became a precious haven of calm amidst the beautiful chaos of new baby days. It was in those "in between" moments – during naps or quiet evenings – that I found a space to reset, to breathe, and to hold onto my own identity as a creative.

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A few years later, after the unimaginable loss of our second child at three months old, my art transformed again. It became a true escape, a quiet realm where I could process raw grief and find relief from a reality that felt unbearable. In the studio, I began to see a different kind of beauty in those deep, unvarnished feelings. I learned that even the most mundane or challenging days – the anxious nights, slow mornings, missed naps, stubborn toddlers, and even the wild tantrums – are the moments that truly define us. They are the stitches that hold our hearts together, and these are the everyday gifts I love to capture in my paintings.

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For years, my paintings were mostly a personal journal of motherhood and life's experiences, occasionally shared with friends or acquaintances. Now, as our youngest steps out the door for longer days at school, I find myself with the time and the heart to bring these accumulated works together. It's a new and exciting challenge to share this deeply personal journey, piece by piece, with the world.

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