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Bio
Meghan Sullivan received her BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and her MFA from the University of Nebraska. She has exhibited nationally and internationally. Sullivan has been an artist in residence in many studios, including Mudflat Studio, c.r.e.t.a. Rome, Studio Shiro Oni in Japan, and the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts in Greece. She has taught at the Gulf Coast State College, Pacific University, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.
1. What are 1-3 books that have influenced your life?
A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders, and Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2. What are you currently working on?
I am working on a series of small porcelain bowls with illustrations of birds. I am making a bowl for each bird in the book Birds of North America. It will be approximately 940 bowls when I am done. 3. How has failure set you up for later success? What was your favorite failure?
I think the biggest failure is when I have been afraid to try making certain pieces or to take chances in the studio. But I have been rejected from residencies, not gotten jobs, used the wrong glaze, and accidentally blown work up in the kiln which I guess could be seen as failures. My favorite failure of this kind is when my brother asked me to make napkin rings as wedding favors for 125 people. I made 300 but used a new and untested glaze on them and all 300 stuck to the kiln shelf. I was able to salvage 130 in time for the wedding but that involved many, many hours of sanding and grinding these very delicate napkin rings. I usually tell my students about this so they know to test their glazes and make more work than they need for an assignment.
4. What is your most unusual habit?
I map out calendars and to do lists by hand for my classes and my life. I like planning assignments/ kiln firings/deadlines this way. At the end of the term, I have hand drawn calendars and lists scattered all around my desk.
5. If you could have any painter, living or dead paint your portrait who would it be and why?
Lucian Freud or Alice Neel - I would want a portrait that was not too flattering. And I think they both paint the fleshiness and complications of the human form well.
But I would also want a more flattering portrait painted by Hans Holbein the Younger.
6. What is the most indispensable item in your studio/workspace/office? What is your studio like?
I have a paring knife that I have used for the last 15 years and really love. I also have a spray bottle with a dinosaur's head that I was given 25 years ago and still keep in my studio. I am currently moving from one studio to another. While that has been slowly happening, I have been working in my office at Lawrence University and in my basement. I'm hoping the new studio is ready to go soon!
7. When you feel overwhelmed or uninspired what do you do? What do you do to get out of a funk? What questions do you ask yourself?
When I am overwhelmed, I make lists. When I am uninspired, I make a pinch pot or just start pushing clay around in my studio - it helps. When I am in a funk, I either need to eat, sleep or take a walk.
8. Who/What influences your work?
My family has always been a big influence on both my life and my work. I also look at ancient ceramics from around the world but particularly ancient Greece.
9. Do you collect anything?
I have a collection of handmade mugs that I try to add to every year.
10. What words of advice would you give to your younger self?
I would tell her to be nicer to herself both in the studio and outside the studio. Also, to be more mindful of taking care of my body - do more yoga!
11. In the last five years what new belief, or habit has most improved your life or studio practice?
I think I have realized that if you keep showing up to the studio, work will get made. Even if you have a bad day where you do not get much done, you are actually moving forward in your work. I used to put more pressure on myself every time I was in the studio but I now realize that I just have to keep showing up and trying.
12. Share an inspiring image.
This was taken this summer by the Atlantic Ocean.
Please explore Then Something Let's Go" : a meditation on memory, meaning, and material online through Artsy or at the gallery!
James May Gallery | 2201 N Farwell, Milwaukee, WI | 262-753-3130
Then Something Let's Go": A meditation on memory, meaning, and material, featuring Meghan Sullivan, Kendra Bulgrin & Lisa Nelson Raabe is open November 7th through December 7th, 2024.
See what is happening at the gallery:
Please continue to support us by visiting us in person at our new location: 2201 N Farwell Ave, Milwaukee or check out our Artsy page.
Feel free to contact us:
mail@jamesmaygallery.com 262-753-3130
HOURS: Thur 10:30-5:30 Fri 11- 5:30 Sat 10:30-5:30
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