Mary Davis Gage is a professional storyteller and retired North Carolina public school teacher. Mary spent 30 years in the classroom teaching theater and visual arts. Mary holds a B. A. in Education from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M. A. in Communication & Storytelling Studies from East Tennessee State University.
Mary’s inspiration for Oval Man came when asked to create an art project using math suitable for kindergarteners. Mary created a person made of nothing but ovals in sets of three. She realized that he resembled an astronaut. Her art students began to ask questions, like, “Why can’t we see his face?; Where does he live?; Does he have a family?”. Her storytelling background began to create and embellish the character with a life of his own. Oval Man became an Outerspace-touring alien superhero. Every superhero needs a sidekick and a villain, so the doggie Ovaltina and pizza snatching Triangularus soon became regulars in the art room. As time went on, Mary recognized the implications for Oval Man to become a method for using STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) in the K-5 classroom. Upon retiring, Mary turned her character into a book, illustrated by her favorite painter, her daughter Anya.
Mary Davis Gage lives in Western North Carolina with her hilarious husband Michael, artistic daughter Anya, and two rescue dogs. Each dog has earned an advanced degree in Rowdiness & Digging from The University of Muttsville.
Check out www.swingingonastarstorytelling.com to learn more.