episode 071: Megan McGrath

Artist Megan McGrath—also known as Mega—has a beautiful, poetic soul. To be in her presence is to converse about the profound, and her ability to listen creates a natural sense of comfort.  She grew up in a suburb outside of Vancouver in a traditional, steadfast family. Her mother consistently encouraged her instinctual creativity and musicality, from guitar lessons to drawing and painting. There was no specific structure to how she expressed her artistic inclinations. In high school, art became more prominent—Mega was encouraged and supported by an incredible teacher who allowed her a lot of creative license. Despite being raised Christian, she was drawn to Buddhism at a young age and began to foster her own relationship with spirituality outside what she was taught.  After high school, she went to Emily Carr for a few years. It was an experience that was necessary, but she truly thrived once she dove headfirst into carving out her professional art career during third year. Since then, Mega's practice has continued to evolve from text art to ornamentation & abstraction—she’s worked with the likes of Nike, Red Bull Music, Hypebeast Inc., Dripped Coffee in New York, The Diamond, Tiffany & Co., Reigning Champ, Ivanhoe Cambridge, Wesgroup, and Lagree West Pilates Studio.In this conversation, we explore where her artistic nature came from and if she was acutely aware of her abilities as a child; navigating feelings and emotions through art; her deep passion for astrology, the planets and time; how Mega practices spirituality at this stage in her life and connecting to something greater than yourself; what language and words means to her; loving liminal spaces; her visual process as a seasonal cycle of death & rebirth; what she feels her future self would say to her current self; and much more.TIMESTAMPS5:23 - Growing up6:55 - What her parents were like8:27 - How she saw art growing up13:38 - Observations about the world16:56 - How she goes through spirituality know19:18 - What school was like after high school 21:37 - What language means to her24:47 - What quotes are resonating with her right now26:58 - How she feels about art in her life right now29:46 - How do you say the most with saying the least? 33:40 - Does she fear death35:05 - How she views time39:28 - Is it easier to let go because of how she views time42:30 - Does she feel connected to all things43:45 - What she feels like when she is the most empowered 46:47 - What colour is she drawn to this year50:10 - What her future self would say to present self51:40 - Exciting things she is doing53:00 - What she would say to her high school art teacher now54:55 - Final question 56:35 - Where to find her