Showing from Nov 5 - Nov 19, 2024
"There is something to be said about the peaceful feeling you get when you look up and see the clouds moving, feel the wind shifting and see the light dancing. There is a sense of freedom that comes with getting lost in the sky. I often look up in celebration with the potential of new heights and big dreams. But what happens when things go terribly wrong? Maybe someone you cherish dies from a terminal illness. Perhaps you see someone in the mild to moderate stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, and you don’t recognize the person you once knew. Grief surprises us because it arrives in different forms. Do you look up at the sky then? It hasn’t changed. The sun still rises and sets. Unchanging in its beauty. The world still turns, the seasons still arrive while you’re in and out of waves of sadness and acceptance.
After experiencing a snowstorm in the spring during a time when I grieved the burnout that came with the pandemic (both as a healthcare worker and a mom of two littles), I started a habit of looking up at the sky during times need, celebration, relief, anger and sorrow. I not only reconnected with the earth but was captivated by how the sky seemed to respond – and continues to do so.
Earlier this year, I lost someone who was like sunshine walking into the room. She positively impacted everyone she met with her smile, friendship and wicked sense of humor. Her life story was full of love and mischief. Her death, I know, has touched many people. So, I found myself staring up into a beautiful sky full of pink, orange and purple looking for answers.
I asked the clouds “Why? Why now, why this way?” And the clouds just kept their leisurely pace, reminding me to breathe.
As night arrives earlier, and the skies become darker, I know it can feel suffocating. Let this be a reminder to look up more often. Reconnect with the earth whether it’s in times of desperation or in victory. The skies are listening, and the clouds have so much to say."
About the Artist
Megan is a Guelph based interdisciplinary artist working in Recreation Therapy. Often inspired by needing to “shake off a feeling”, her creative practice is used as a tool for emotional processing. Megan uses abstract painting, ceramics and other mediums as a way of grounding herself in themes of mental health, reconnecting with nature and regaining a sense of self throughout seasons of change. After completing a BA in Studio Art at the University of Guelph, Megan entered the allied health care field working with seniors in the Wellington area. With a year full of change, spiritual exploration, and loss of friendships, Megan’s current work explores the relationship between the waves of grief and the vast beauty of the sky. In this connection between the emotional turmoil and the sky responding in complex ways, Megan is often left wondering how there can be such beauty in moments of great pain. And what a great question that is, one she’s still trying to figure it out.
Featured Work
“Girl, I hope you go far”
20x24 (2023)
$400
“Clouded Judgment”
12x12 (2024)
$250
“Change is in the wind; I can feel it”
20x24 (2023)
$400
“Relief Between Grief” (top)
12x12 (2024)
$250
“She is sunshine walking into the room” (bottom)
12x12 (2024)
$250
“Like a winter sky, your love is endless”
20x24 (2024)
$400
“Why? Why now, why this way?”
12x12 (2024)
$250
“Fighting the undertow”
20x24 (2024)
$400
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