⊱ ۫.* Being Submerged In Blush: Megan Smith's Sparkle

Sunshine incarnate.

Cotton candy personified.

Bringing a dreamland into the real world.

I have a curious idea that artist Megan Smith is from a different planet, one where happiness vibrates through the air and fills your lungs, melting you with the sticky-sweet feeling of whimsy and possibility. On the release of your breath, you let go of your worries and dive completely into a carefree blossom.

Nostalgia and its physical manifestations are major inspirations for Megan’s works. Stemming from a childhood filled with imagined worlds, scenarios, and many summers playing alongside cousins, Megan considers those memories the beginning. Attention to replicating that feeling of childhood playfulness is what makes Megan’s work feel so familiar and nostalgic to viewers.

Incorporating floral designs, squiggles, and rounded corners, her signature shapes are smooth and carefree! Megan confesses she could not picture her work existing without them. Alongside the organic shapes lives Megan’s intentional use of color. It feels like you put on rose-colored glasses when entering Megan’s world. Pastel colors (mostly pink, pink, and another shade of pink) are used to allude to the bright ways a child may view life.

I had the chance to attend a workshop hosted by Megan at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she demonstrated two of her favorite processes in the world: experimental bookbinding and how to utilize a RISO printer. Megan has been working with RISO printers and studying bookbinding since undergrad (a self-proclaimed “bookbinding nerd at heart”)! As soon as she heard the school had a RISO machine, she knew exactly what she wanted to feature in her workshop!

The RISO printer is unlike a normal printer in that it only prints in one color at a time. Vibrant, bold, and deliciously precise, the RISO printer is something straight from a pop artist’s dream.

Moving on in our workshop, Megan then uses the customized prints and incorporates these pages into a larger project of elaborate bookbinding. As a group, attendees practiced the trade, sewing a few paper pages together with durable waxed thread. Once we were familiar with the steps, it was time to spend a few electric hours exploring, creating a book from our own prints and imaginations!

Megan provided all the materials, everything from colored paper, metallic thread, translucent vinyl, paper crimpers, iridescent sheets, and enough inspiration for us to become a small army of book binders.

Surrounded by the clippings of our books, sharing scraps and passing scissors around like a hot potato, I felt transported back to summer camp! I was suddenly ten years old, joined by my friends, making friendship bracelets and helping each other with our crafts. In Megan’s workshop, we were free from expectations, completely allowed to mess up and try again; to experiment and layer new ideas.

We saw just a fraction of Megan’s process in the workshop. Actually performing the steps first hand recontextualized the amount of work Megan puts into each of these books from start to finish; from planning to final product.

The main event of Megan’s visit was, of course, her exhibition hosted in the Fried Fruit Art Space gallery. Inside the limited space, she managed to fit in three separate installations:

1. Little Libraries: Consisting of three custom wall structures that housed a collection of her self-constructed books.

2. Play at the Table: A personalized play table inviting viewers to draw/color with custom crayons in Megan’s signature shapes. Includes Tic-Tac-Toe games and can seat 4-5.

3. Listen Closely: Audio recordings of Megan’s mother reading the children’s books Goodnight Moon and Patrick Will Grow, encased in large cans, mirroring tin-can phones.

Each station includes an interactive element that offers exploration and allows visitors to enjoy the sculptures hands-on. Megan was intentional in wanting the audience to be able to participate in the installation. Drawings created during Play at the Table were encouraged to be hung up on strings by the glass, giving participants a chance to become active collaborators in the space and leave their mark.

As sunlight shimmered through the glass of the gallery, everyone who entered the space was immediately immersed in the dreamland. Visitors beamed as they reconnected with beloved childhood memories and took in all of the color. I loved watching people’s faces when they realized they were listening to Goodnight Moon, exclaiming how they loved the book as a kid.

I was lucky enough to stay from opening to closing and got to see folks of all ages interact with Megan’s art. Though children squealed while playing with the crayons and bendy pencils, it was clear that adults were able to appreciate the nostalgic intentions on a deeper level. In a world where we are constantly looking forward and advancing technology, it was refreshing to take a seat in a land of child-inspired wonder and decompress in the space.

I asked Megan for her thoughts on the notion that, for some artists, to have their work be considered “fine art”, it should allude to darker themes and be visually shocking or dramatic. I was curious whether she ever faced backlash about her works being “too fun” to be weighed in a larger artistic conversation.

She admitted that, yes, she’s gotten asked before: “This piece is so colorful and positive. Where is the other side?” a question that assumes there must be a gloomier second half looming somewhere close by. Megan responded that, in a world that is always delivering bad news and stressors, there didn’t need to be this sadder side to her work. She desires that people can come into the space, interact with her pieces, and feel nourished by the experience. She hopes people can take a breath of fresh air in her exhibit, for it to act as an escape, even if just for a few moments, from the craziness of the world around us. Her work is truly positive for its own sake!

As Megan prepares her deinstallation process, she spills what she is planning to do next in her realm of creations. Primarily building her sculptures from wood, Megan wants to transition to the world of soft sculptures! Leaving it vague, her sewing skills are progressing past the world of bookbinding.

Fried Fruit Art Space is so lucky and grateful to have hosted the wonderfully caring Megan Smith in our gallery. We highly encourage you to go check out her website, where you can learn more about her and see a collection of her past works! Alongside that, stay tuned for her future artistic conquests in soft sculpture!

˚༄ ˖ 𓍢ִ໋ * ❀

Megan Smith’s Instagram: @ megansmithart

Megan Smith’s Website: https://www.megansmith.art/