Meet Meg Wallace | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meg Wallace and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meg, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
My early childhood living in the Florida Keys had the greatest influence on my organic relationship with art. During the time I grew up, the Keys was a place known for its bohemian lifestyle. It was full of artisans, 1st generation immigrants, hippies, and what they call the “Keys Rats”. The sense of community was palpable.

My love for exploration and experimenting began in this environment. We were avid explorers of the wooded areas around my house, most days we walked down the street to Harry Harris Park to play with my four siblings and our neighborhood friends. Building make-shift forts in the woods, creating our own imaginary worlds, canoeing around the island, and biking down to snorkel in and around the lagoon at the park were just a few everyday childhood adventures we shared.

One crazy experience that influenced my art’s aerial viewpoint happened when I was in kindergarten. The draw bridge became stuck. Since I lived on the island on the other side of the draw bridge. I, along with many of my classmates, was stranded at school for what seemed like an eternity for a five-year-old, one long day. We had to be transported very late at night by helicopter to get back home. It was my first experience flying. I was beyond thrilled to get away from school in such an adventurous way and soaked up seeing the keys from up above lit by moonlight and thousands of stars. Often when I paint, I step far back to gauge the aerial composition and then come in close for the detail.

Later my family moved to Miami which had a similar community feel at times but was more fast-paced with an emphasis on image and status.

Our family’s deep love for the sea ensured we took every opportunity to be near it. We embraced driving away from the hustle and bustle of Miami to go to Everglades National Park. We usually left before dawn to drive down my dad’s flats-boat. As we entered the long drive entrance into the park, the sun would be just breaking over the vast stretch of sawgrass and pine; the tranquility and stillness made us feel like we were frozen in time. I liken it to when you step on fresh snow the crunch is so sweet as you step into its freshness. When my dad was fishing, I usually sat reflecting on the reflection of the water dancing around me, soaking in the salty spray as we bumped along the flats at a faster pace in the summer to dry off the sweat and rid the mosquitos that surrounded us around the mangroves.

My relationship to art is intertwined with my love for the constant fluctuations in nature that help it maintain balance and symbiotic diversity. The ebbs and flows and even storms which can be devasting at the moment, all work to help shift things back to balance. If I could not have some part of nature around me, I don’t think I would be able to handle the stresses of life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What kind of atmosphere do you like when you’re working? Do you listen to certain kinds of music, podcasts, etc.?
First and foremost, I need freedom. Creating art is so sacred to me and I need to block out other voices to tap into the place I create. Music and its rhythm are very important to my pieces. I will listen to one album or the same song on repeat till I finish. For the most part, there is not one genre of music or one group, band, or singer I listen to. I pick what I gravitate to in a moment.

Some examples of music I listen to as I paint are Miles Davis’ early jazz, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Duke Ellington, Gypsy Kings, Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, Sinead O’Connor, etc. When I had a tragedy in the family occur, I kept the long version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird on repeat for a month as I painted the piece. My intense pieces all have lengthy backstories and these stories carry on after.

I painted my Mother Mangrove series during the chaotic time of early covid. I had all three kids home doing school virtually and really needed music to keep me focused in the chaos. I listened to Bob Marley and the Delta album by Mumford and Sons on repeat for many months as I painted 10 pieces for my solo multisensory exhibit at the Stone House Museum in Deering Estate.

For atmosphere, I like it to be very clear and decluttered so my cluttered mind can focus solely on my expression.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a current Artist in Residence at the Deering Estate, first I would let them experience some of my favorite outdoor activities on the estate, including:

– enjoy a morning sunrise at the boat basin with the 100 Ladies of Deering
-kayak from the basin into my favorite South Florida Mangrove forest
-picnic on the ocean view tables with food from my favorite local french bakery @https://www.delicesdefrancebakery.com/ or my other favorite Colombian bakery @https://www.opentable.com/r/macitas-restaurant-and-bakery-cutler-bay
-hike on a guided tour of 8 ecosystems on the 400+ acres of land.
-guided tour of the historic Stone House Museum & Richmond Cottage

Deering Estate is also home to the Cutler Fossil Site and Cutler Burial Mound. The Cutler Fossil Site, excavated in the 1980’s, revealed a Paleo-Indian shelter and bones of megafauna from the Pleistocene Era when sea levels were considerably lower. The Cutler Burial Mound is a prehistoric mound on the Charles Deering Estate, and one of the few surviving prehistoric mounds in Miami-Dade County. The mound is about 38 feet by 20 feet at the base, and about five feet high. Artifacts from the mound are from the Glades II and III periods. The mound is believed to contain 12 to 18 burials of the Tequesta. The Cutler Burial mound is accessible only via guided Natural Area Tours.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give a Shoutout to LTH Salon! The Less Than Half Salon brings together women artists with those professionally and personally committed to raising their cultural value so that we can create undeniable demand for the work of women artists, start art worldwide conversations around their representation and build strong connections between those who share the goal of a more equitable art world. Personally, being a member of this select group has enriched my life as an artist in more ways than one.

https://lessthanhalf.org/

Website: www.megwallace.art

Instagram: megwallace.art

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meg-wallace-visualartistmiami/

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