About

Hi, I'm Megan! I investigate sustainable and eco-conscious practices to create sculptures, installations, and print media. I use recycled and natural materials in my papermaking and natural dye practice as I make art that celebrates nature, color, and pattern. My formal education in ceramics influences how I manipulate flat sheets of paper into three-dimensional art. I studied ceramics and book arts at Indiana University in Indianapolis from 2014 to 2019. While in university, I got to study in and travel to China, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, and France. It was the most incredible experience to visit these global landscapes, learn about the culture, and study art and history where it was made.

My childhood memories inspire my ideas: quilts decorating walls, pretty trinkets behind a glass curio door, and flowers in the garden. As a girl I helped my mother plant, weed, and water in the garden. The flowers grew stronger with rain and sun, and we would enjoy their blooms until the first frost in the fall. Now I tend my own garden at my studio, growing plants for color and fiber in my art practice. Floral motifs are common in my artwork; I am particularly taken with drawing and painting stylized fern branches. I am also drawn to textile patterns, mosaics, and tile designs. In my travels, I take pictures of any floor pattern, stair railing, and window bars that capture my attention and save them for my sketchbook.

I am a lifelong learner and maker, and art gives me a creative outlet to explore my curiosity of the world. I have always been making something, and now as an adult I can make art for a living. I am inspired by the gardens and flowers my mother tended, the global landscapes I have had the privilege to visit, and the Earth and its rich ecosystems. I research methods that reuse paper, food scraps, and harvested plants to make art that keeps the Earth in mind. The impact my art makes on the environment is important to me, and by using recycled and foraged materials my hope is to reduce waste, leave the Earth better than I found it, and inspire you to do the same. A circular economy is better for the environment by reusing existing materials and resources, by reducing waste and pollution, and by regenerating nature. I firmly believe that by caring for the Earth, we also care for our communities by extending love and hope to all of us who share this home. 

Natural dyes and pigments allow me to be more conscious of my creative footprint, and I fully appreciate the process of extracting the colors from foraged, grown, and sustainably sourced materials. Foraging is finding color in unexpected places. I research invasive and pest plants like Stinging Nettles, keep my eyes peeled for roadside Black eyed Susans, and reach out to the community to find plenty of Black Walnuts come fall. My search this year includes wild grapes and rusty scrap metal. I am growing Indigo, Cosmos, Marigolds, and many more plants to bring into the studio. I use the harvested colors from my garden to make watercolor pans and silkscreen ink and dye textiles and paper. By researching these techniques, I am practicing historical methods of color-making that predate synthetic pigments. These practices of growing and dyeing were historically women’s work. I am reclaiming this work in a new context by usurping society’s expectations for women and connecting with my community to take part in this radical labor. I work with fellow artists and gardeners to share my research, successes, failures, and outcomes. By elevating the labor of gardening and the art of natural dyeing and pigment extraction, I am exploring my own humanity and history.