We recently connected with Megan Nolte and have shared our conversation below.
Megan, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Everyone yearns for something meaningful in life, and some people spend their entire lives trying to find their purpose. I was fortunate enough to be given my purpose and meaning very early on in life. For as long as I can remember it has been the one thing in my life that has made sense to me consistently. For this reason I couldn’t imagine pursuing anything else but this creative journey.
Hearing “You’ll never make it” or “You’re gonna be a starving artist” caused a feeling of unknowingness, self doubt, and overthinking. Despite this stigma, I have overcome and will always keep creating.
I know feeling all those unsettling doubts that come with being an artist are worse than not making art that makes myself and others feel something.
Thanks to my guides; being my mom and a few teachers from college at The Art Institute of Chicago, I have glided through my life knowing exactly my goal and dreams. I want to do just that, to be a guide for other future creatives and to use art as a means to healing, and growth.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Through my art practice, I try to bring the outside in. My goal is to bring my personal interest in nature and art to life, by using color, texture, detail, and design to create a kind of unity and alluring quality of natural details. My style is very eclectic; I enjoy experimenting to discover all the many possibilities in the art world, furthering my exploration into the realm of endless possibilities.
My interest in drawing animals began at a very young age. When I got into my dream college at the The Art Institute of Chicago I discovered scientific Illustration when I took a course taught by Peggy Macnamara, the artist in residence at the Field Museum of Chicago. Peggy, being an amazing watercolor illustrator, she has been my biggest inspiration throughout my entire art career. She also opened the door for my internship a the Field Museum of Chicago which I did for 3 years. This got me up close and personal with the nature inspired art I always dreamed of being surrounded by.
Interdisciplinary approaches to creating nature inspired 2D and 3D objects. I studied old techniques while pushing in new directions, not limiting myself or my work in anyway. Allowing my many interests lead me down a rabbit hole of details in which I tend to formulate meaning. 2D media, photography, and sketches play an important role in the beginning of an idea as something to reference back to. I try to be well versed in as many mediums as I can, but watercolor was the medium that fit the best in my creative mission. It is the medium that makes the most sense to me, and has taught me a lot about patience.
My mixed media techniques include: stained glass, ceramics, 3D design, graphic design, and drawing, with my current focus mediums being: painting with watercolor and acrylics. Additionally, what makes my work categorize as mixed media, would be the use of many recycled, reused, and repurposed materials used in past projects. I also teach watercolor classes to adults, developing a senior outreach program with Kaleidoscope School of Art in Barrington, IL. The outreach program consists of traveling to multiple assisted living homes. Which allows me to help others with art who also use it for healing. I am grateful that I am already in the circuit of using my passion for healing and to help those who truly value it as much as I do.
My current work has mostly consisted of watercolor illustrations. I teach art classes, accept commissions, mural projects, and perform live painting at events, in addition to my full-time job. The commissions and mural’s I have done involve landscapes, and scientific illustration. My muse being nature, I enjoy illustrating a range of natural subjects and have used my expertise for some major events in my art career:
– I had the opportunity of working with the University of Alaska in 2021, by doing 30 watercolor illustrations cataloguing a food web of organisms found in the Northern Gulf of Alaska.
– Completed as of October 2023; a 10’x’6′ canvas for a kids room. It is a underwater scene with coral and marine life and is the largest painting I have done to date.
Now, my work being focused mostly on the study of nature, I do hesitate to put myself in such a grand tradition of scientific illustration. But nevertheless, I do study and analyze nature to create my work. I believe by looking carefully at the entirety of nature and by creating my work, I will learn to see in better detail and gather an understanding of color and form that will make me a better artist, and in a way try to pay tribute to the natural world, reminding myself and others to slow down and connect with nature.
My curiosity and ambition to do larger pieces and different mediums continues to grow as my career develops and I am always excited for what comes next. Art being healing helped me truly discover what I wanted to achieve in my passion and pursuit of art at a very young age. At age 12 I realized my long term goal of wanting to be an Art Therapist. I want to be able to provide an outlet to people who need it, the same way that outlet was offered to me growing up.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, I’d have to say some of the most impactful qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge in my journey would be the ability to see beyond what others see and most importantly the fact that art is healing. Art has always been a staple in my life, I’ve always known that I wanted to create in all different mediums. At a young age I struggled with anxiety, and specifically remember that art was what helped me cope with all of my feelings. I discovered that I could use art as an outlet for expressing myself and my emotions.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My first inspiration was my mother, who is an artist herself. She focuses on stained glass and actually owns and operates her own glass studio in Arkansas, called Glass From The Past.
Earlier in my childhood I would watch my mom create in our basement, I was about 7-8 years old at the time. She always encouraged me to maximize my passion for creativity which really put me on the path to pursue art as a passion and profession. With out her support and encouragement I know I would not be the women or artist that I am today.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @megannolteart
- Facebook: Megan Nolte Art
Image Credits
Headshot by: Stasi Pappas (@shotbystasi)
