Mal McCrea is a photographer, abstract painter, and mixed-media artist whose work lingers at the intersection of place, process, and presence. Her photography observes the overtly ordinary yet extraordinary qualities of the natural world—landscapes, textures, and quiet moments that ask us to pause and inhabit. As a painter, she turns inward, creating layered abstractions through intuitive mark-making, where color, gesture, and repetition echo the patterns of both nature and emotion.

Her practice extends beyond the studio into community spaces. Mal is a facilitator and educator, leading retreats and intuitive painting workshops that invite participants into creativity as a form of well-being and connection. With an MA from Kent State University, she is an internationally published portrait photographer, a college instructor, and teaches photography workshops at the Canton Museum of Art.

Working from her studio, Mal grounds her practice in the interplay of place, process, and community. Her work unfolds as both personal exploration and shared terrain, a space where nature, emotion, and human connection are continually re-inhabited.