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Greenville artist Mary Croley discovered a love for creating beautiful artwork early in life. At 82, after a long career teaching math, Croley savors what has become more than a pastime — a passion for creating which she shares with the world through her paintings and hand-painted offerings.

A longtime favorite at the Calico Fort Arts and Crafts Festival, Croley returns this year to delight shoppers with her paintings and hand-painted journals, bookmarks and magnets. She has been selling her creations for more than 20 years, collecting a bit of money to cover the cost of supplies, but gaining so much more than money for her time.

“[Creating art] has been my therapy,” Croley said. “I lost my husband a year ago this month. The art has been more valuable to me than monetary value [because] its something that is very therapeutic for me. It keeps your mind off your problems and helps your feelings a lot.”

The Butler County native is no stranger to Lowndes County. She taught math at Lowndes County High School and Fort Deposit Academy, allowing her passion for art to impact her teaching.

“There’s so much geometry in art,” Croley said. “I’ve used quilt squares to show how art and math are related.”

Croley dabbles in mixed media, adding copper or beads to pieces here and there. But her preference is working with oil to paint landscapes, pets, wildlife and people.

“Most of my work is paintings,” Croley said. “I do things like note cards that are printed from my paintings, and I do bookmarks that are hand painted. I have done some pieces of woodwork that were painted and have also done Santas out of cypress knees. But oils are really my favorite medium.”

As a lifelong artist, Croley finds joy in her work and in encouraging others to pursue their passions.

“I think if you have a passion to create, and it may be art, it may be music, it could be sewing or designing things, I think that it gives you a lot of satisfaction,” Croley said. “If you’re doing it for the money, I don’t think you’ll get much out of it. I think that if you’ve got a passion, then you should use it and share it with others.”