Meet Margaret Craig

We recently connected with Margaret Craig and have shared our conversation below.

Margaret, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I think my work ethic comes from the fact that nobody wanted me to be an artist. I was an only child to older parents and there was no way they were going to let me study art, because I needed to be able to make a living. Somehow even in high school there was never any room in my schedule for an art class. (I graduated with 6 years of science and 5 years of math) I was never an A student as my heart was elsewhere. Even in college they thought when I took art classes it took away from my regular studies so they stopped me from taking them. (They were paying) When I finally graduated with a degree in Biology Secondary Education, I went back on my own dime. I had such joy in actually being able to do the thing I always wanted to do. I think because it was taken away from me for so long and not considered worthwhile, all I wanted to do was make my art. Getting into the studio has never been a problem for me, and I wound up teaching art at a wonderful place for 24 years. I never did teach biology but that degree has been food for my art practice.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

After 24 years I retired from teaching and I am now an artist full-time. I do regularly have shows in galleries, but I also approach showing my work in other ways. My art has an environmental theme, because of my degree in biology this has led to a focus on getting out of the gallery.
I create large pieces that I animate with my body. With these art costumes I can interact with many more people about my message. I have been a part of various festivals and gorilla performances. This year I will be debuting a new piece of the Smoky Hill River festival in Salina Kansas. I am always looking to be invited new places, and I am hoping exposure will lead to suggestions and requests!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think having a science background has helped both in the message of my work and in the creation of my work. I think it helps to have something to make your art about, rather than just emotional relationships, art about art, or an arbitrary landscape. I have a different world to pull from. The landscape under the microscope, or under water is so different than the one out the window. Loosely I make work about human interaction in nature and the environmental response.

I was drawn to printmaking because the effects created there were unlike anything you could get from just painting or drawing. The use of chemicals and machines to make your art also draws on a science background. And in printmaking you are creating a matrix, plate, stone or wood for example, that the final product is printed from. There’s an experimental quality to printmaking, a hypothesis and result, that relates back to a scientific experiment. It also made me think about creation steps differently. Among other experiments, I invented a technique for casting an etching with an acrylic medium instead printing with paper and a press. This allows me to use materials and the copies of the print in a very unique way. I pair my stretchy etchings with repurposed plastic to create alternative evolution life forms. The desire to experiment, to see what happens, has led me to many new techniques and aesthetic combinations.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Yes I am looking for people/organizations to collaborate with. I’m looking for those who might want to bring my performance pieces to their festival, or gallery opening, or general event at botanical gardens, children’s museums etc. My works are fun and educational for children and adults and for a little support financial and/or logistical, I’m happy to bring them places.
Interested parties can see my work and contact me from my website. MargaretCraig.com or on Instagram at #margaretacraig

Contact Info:

• Website: https://margaretcraig.com
• Instagram: #margaretacraig
• Facebook: Margaret Craig

Image Credits

images 6 & 7 photo credit Sean Ward
all others courtesy of the artist