Artist Megan Wassom (based out of Spencer, Mason City, and Davenport, IA) pours an incredible energy into her artwork. Her studio is called “Artnique” and she uses an assortment of mediums to create art with a variety of subjects – ranging from still lifes of plants to landscapes to abstract designs! I can just imagine her smile as she admits, “I would say that I still haven’t quite found my niche. I LOVE encaustics – that’s my favorite. But, I love everything else, too and find it hard to use just one thing. I go back and forth on many media and use as much as I can (or use as much as I know how to use anyway.)”
"Set The Flame" created with matchsticks
“When I was fresh out of high school and just starting out
with my art, I entered every competition, sent my (skimpy) resume to everyone,
emailed images of my artwork to every art gallery – I tried really hard to get ‘accepted’
somewhere, anywhere. I wanted to sell my artwork so badly or win a
competition,” Wassom said. “But, I faced more rejections than acceptances and
spent a lot of money on application fees. It left me feeling disheartened,
until I had the pleasure of meeting a textile artist who also happened to be an
art professor at a university here in the Midwest. She told me I needed to calm
down.” The professor told Wassom that after 20, 30, even 40 years, she will
have developed her niche and have a stronger understanding of who she is as an
artist. If she continued applying to everything, all the time, she would just
get burned out. “This advice has helped me out so much and given me more time
to focus on my work – instead of on competitions, selling art and entering open
calls for art shows.”
"Mystery" made with enamel
I asked Wassom what art is, to her. She replied, “I want to
start out by saying what art IS NOT – art IS NOT an afterthought. Art is every
bit of a forethought (or it should be anyway).” Wassom continued, saying that
she didn’t want to criticize any artist’s work, but that she is often
frustrated with the contemporary art world. “I feel that too often, something
is created – a piece, a painting, a sculpture, etc. – and then it is given
meaning afterword.” She said she thinks art is created as a response; as an
expression of an idea, and in response to that idea more artists respond by
creating more art. Wassom believes that art propagates itself in this way and
in doing so, propagates humanism. “I think that to try and give meaning to art
AFTERWARD is a disgrace to art itself. That’s not to say that art can’t have
meaning. Some art is created just for the sake of creating. In that case, I
wish then we would just let it be. Don’t try and give it meaning as we are
viewing it and criticizing it. Just let that piece of art stand on its own,
without meaning, knowing the artist created it…. just because they wanted to!” Amen,
sister!
"Go Cells Go" made with mixed media
Her favorite piece that she has created is from 2017. She
made it as a response to her grandmother’s diagnosis of Stage III invasive
breast cancer. It depicts a large cancer cell being attacked by smaller white
blood cells. “It represents my grandma’s fight and victorious win against
cancer,” Wassom said. The idea behind it is that if the smallest, most basic
unit of life can fight off cancer we, as larger units of life made up of those
small units, can too. The piece is 36”x36” and she created it with “TONS of
texturizing paste and TONS of enamel paint on wood.” The piece, titled “Go
Cells Go” is featured in the Lilly “Oncology on Canvas” online gallery. “If you
have a personal history with cancer, I encourage you to check this gallery out.
It is so inspiring!”
"Cell Division" created with encaustic
Her next project is actually a continuation of a series she
started at age 16 – paintings she calls the “Life Series.” It will consist of
80 paintings when she is finished (she is currently working on #52.) Each piece
represents a life lesson that Wassom has learned. She hopes that someday they
will all be put into a book (a collaboration with her sister, who is a writer.)
“Eventually, I would love for all 80 paintings to be hung in a gallery (perhaps
the Met in NYC?)” she said with a wink. “Anyhow, I work on the paintings 3-4
times throughout the year, and so I will be working on another one here soon!”
"Succulent" made with acrylic paint
When Wassom was younger, she wanted to be an art teacher.
But while in community college, she entered a surgical technology program (with
the goal of having a summer job) and fell in love with surgery and medicine.
She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedicine at Buena Vista
University. She was planning on minoring in art, but found that many of the art
classes were taught at the same time as her science classes. Wassom is
currently working on her Master’s Degree in Physician Assistant Studies at St.
Ambrose University in Davenport, IA. She hopes to move back to northwestern
Iowa after graduation in 2023.
"Duck Duck" made with acrylic paint
It's no surprise that being in Grad School has caused a
stumbling block to her art production. “Often, while I sit in class all day, my
mind drifts off and I find myself wanting SO MUCH to be painting something,”
she said. “However, because I am needing to focus on my studying (or pay
attention in class), I don’t have the time to do it. Because of this, I have a
few Word documents saved on my tablet with paragraphs and descriptions I have
thought of – something I can reflect back on when I’m all out of ideas.” She
also has a folder of hard copy images she has found in magazines or printed off
the computer, along with a pile of books, art magazines, and Sotheby’s catalogs
to help fuel her inspiration when she is itching to make art but unsure of what
to create.
Just one of the many uses for pool noodles.
I love asking other artists what their favorite tools for
creating are, because the answers are as unique as each individual. “I have
chosen a few things,” Wassom said. “[A] Tuna can/cat food can is PERFECT for
encaustic paints (that’s what’s currently in the one pictured); the clay tool
is an ESSENTIAL tool I use in all my encaustic paintings; I had to include my
paint palette – I use it for every single one of my oil paintings. It probably
has 100 layers of paint on it at least.” She also included a leftover food
container (she uses this for her paint water) with a piece of a star-shaped
pool noodle that she uses to hold her brushes! “The blue wrap is actually a
cloth-type material that we use to sterilize surgical instruments in. I have a
bunch of them and use them to store brushes, tools, pencils, etc. when I am ‘on
the go’ – put them in the slots, roll it up, store it away!”
"Monarch" made with watercolors
“I would just like to say that for anyone – artists or
non-artists – be mindful of what you hang up on your walls.” Wassom said,
referring to big-box store mass-produced art. “Are you inspired by that? Does
seeing that generic decoration every day REALLY make you happy? Consider what
it would mean if you had a thought-provoking colorful painting created by a
real artist that you know hanging there instead. Yes, this is sort of a push to
‘support your local artist,’ but I also think we need to consider what we
surround ourselves with.”
To see more of Wassom’s artwork, check out her website here https://megleesunshine.wixsite.com/website or you can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
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