MOOSE MOUNTAIN PROVINCIAL PARK — Born and raised in Calgary, Marilee Manz has lived there for most of her life.
Her parents are both originally from Saskatchewan; her father was from Cupar and her mother hailed from Saskatoon.
Although Manz grew up next to the Rocky Mountains and loves going to the mountains, she loves to come to the Prairies as well.
After graduating Grade 12, Manz attended the University of Calgary to get her bachelor of arts in English, but she also had a strong interest in history and archeology. Recently, she returned to school for archeology courses so she can attend a dig in Mexico.
Throughout the years she has worked in many industries. She was employed in the oil industry in records management and was a technical writer. Her latest engagement was a route scheduler for vending machines. She began her creative interest with writing. Manz has written plays, screenplays, novels and poetry, and some of these have been self-published.
Now she is a visual artist in photography and collage. She enjoys taking her photos and turning them into collages, and this is her plan when she attends the Artist Colony at Moose Mountain Provincial Park.
Her favourite part about photography is when she plans road trips and stops to gather more photos.
She has travelled to parks in Alberta and Saskatchewan and is not afraid to go the distance to get the photos she is looking for.
One photo that stands out in her mind is when she travelled to Hussar, Alta., to capture the beauty of an old grain elevator. As she approached, a large flock of Canadian Geese happened to take to flight.
They flew over the grain elevator, forming the V formation, while Manz took waves and waves of photos to capture the beauty of the moment.
Manz is hoping to gather photos of as many grain elevators as possible, and she knows that Saskatchewan has several.
She is attending the Moose Mountain Provincial Park Artist Colony for the first time from June 24-30. Manz will stay at the Bear Claw Casino and looks forward to displaying her work for others to see and enjoy.
It is also her plan to show people how a collage works and hopes to encourage people to use their imaginations.
Manz looks forward to showing her creativity to others, meeting new people and enjoying her time at the colony.
