oly Crap! Is that the Dali Lama?! Believe it or not this wasn’t my reaction upon catching a clip from Seven Years in Tibet while channel surfing, rather it was upon viewing one of Meghan Kelly’s pieces of art. Meghan, a senior here at West Chester U., transferred from Bucks County Community College two years ago.
At Bucks, her initial curiosity in art was peaked when she decided to act on an interest in the skill she has had for some time.
Growing up in Feasterville and later Langhorne Pa., she has always had an affinity for nature and finds a great deal of inspiration in just about anything, but finds herself creating works geared more towards organic shapes and materials most of the time. As a true lover of the process of creating, Meghan told me she finds herself drawn to such tedious projects as print making and photography. This was apparent as I interviewed her on the third floor of Mitchell hall, asking her questions as she sat thoughtfully, sometimes taking a moment to look out the window, other times staring down at the linoleum tile she was scraping away at to make an intricate design for a print.
As the interview progressed from a question and answer format to more of a conversation, we began to discuss why she chooses to dedicate so much time to something that to a lot of people is viewed simply as a novelty or hobby.
She began to explain to me how much she enjoys cityscapes, specifically for the beauty found in the architecture and conversely in the gutter.
Because of her attraction to the organic it is easy to see why you would most likely find her taking a picture of a stopped up sewer drain, covered in dead leaves and old newspaper as opposed to something obvious and aesthetically pleasing.
She believes art should not be cut and dry, rather it should challenge and similarly to music one should crave variety; different songs for different moods. It is this dichotomy of interest that is most intriguing about her as a person as well as an artist.
I believe she summed up this notion very effectively when she said that the true enjoyment she gains from taking photographs is having a quiet, silent moment captured.
Regardless of if what is going on behinds the lens is anything but quiet or silent.
She also expressed to me that she more often times finds an enormous amount of inspiration while alone, within her own thoughts and mind though I know her to be an incredibly outgoing and social person.
Yet, recently as far as inspiration is concerned she has been creating mostly due to a trip to Peru she took a few months ago.
Through this life changing experience she has found a well of stimulation that has yet to run dry.
Because this trip offered such a different perception on viewing and living life, it has altered her perception on her art and what it should do as well.
As a last question I asked her if she intends to influence or change the world around her through art. Her response was that before she can even think about influencing the world she needs to let it influence her a bit more.
I found this to be a profoundly mature and beautiful response, much like the woman sitting before me.