Mary Cleary
Mary Cleary is an illustrator and designer specializing in children’s literature and community engagement. Working in watercolor, ink and digital media, she produces work for community- and children-focused organizations.
Mary studied art history and teaching at the University of Massachusetts, Chinese at Shaanxi Teacher’s University in China, and graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design. As an award-winning educator, she has read thousands of picture books with hundreds of children. A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, she writes and illustrates picture books, board books and poetry.
Mary lives in Massachusetts with her spouse, daughters, and a dog.
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“Mary did an absolutely BEAUTIFUL job bringing our idea to reality! Her illustrations were the perfect fit for our text. She brought amazing ideas for enhancement to the table, and she was so responsive and receptive to our ideas too! She uses her knowledge and background in early childhood education/child development to ensure that the final product not only looked great, but was also developmentally appropriate and had the most opportunity for success. I cannot say enough about how wonderful it was to work with Mary...I 100% recommend connecting with her for your illustration project needs!”
“Mary was a joy to work with! Her talent, attention to detail, and clear communication were so appreciated. We had a vision for our project and she brought it to life! I highly recommend her to anyone needing illustration work.”
“Thank you for contributing such a sweet image for our postcard collection. It was a pleasure working with you.”