2023: Ever Onwards

Happy New Year!!

Thanks to everyone who waded into my 2022 year-end review blog last week. If you read it last Friday you really deserve a gold star as that was before I went back and edited. I went over it the next morning and made some major edits for ease of reading and clarity so feel free to go back and give it another try if you struggled the first time. As always the practice of writing about the year is helpful to me and allows me to see and experience it differently than just walking through it and not looking back. 

So here we are six days into 2023. How are you feeling about it? It seems too soon to judge - it takes some time to shake off the festive period and of course, we are still in the middle of winter. I feel like hibernating a bit longer. I have been for some short walks. I have done a bit of yoga. I have listened to a lot of music and I have thought about what comes next and how I want it to feel and look. It still feels vague and hazy. 

I feel like I need to do this art thing differently. Sometimes I think I need to just give up and do something entirely different but I am pretty sure that's not the way forward. I think a combination of things will need to take place. I also just think it is a matter of time. Clarity doesn't happen just because a month, day, or year rolled over. So, I will take a few steps forward, I will try a few things and I will wait and observe and try again. That's pretty much how I have done it all these years and with a lot of help. Ever onwards.

In other news, I created January's playlist for my Ko-fi Supporters. 

This month's mix casts a wider net, a worldly and electronic palette/palate cleanser - encouraging us to dream bigger in 2023. Just thinking of all the music we get to listen to is a reason to celebrate!

PS. Did you know that if you are a monthly supporter you get an automatic 10% off items in my shop? It's true! No coupon is needed - the discount is applied automatically. 

Support my work one time or monthly: https://ko-fi.com/meganchapman

Thanks to my December Wall of Famers! You make a difference!!

And that's all I have for you this week. Keep fighting, keep showing up and keep exploring this beautiful, confusing world. We need you here. 

Like my vibe? Support me! 

Research, mentoring, and a publication!

Hello Dear Readers, 

This week got away from me a bit and I am not sure how, but it did. Oh, I remember now... I fell down a rabbit hole of Hans Holbein the younger's works along with a deep genealogy dive. Look at his lines... Swoon-worthy. 

James Butler, later 9th Earl of Ormond and 2nd Earl of Ossory (c.1496-1546),
c. 1537, Hans Holbein the Younger

In other news, I had some technical issues with my phone so I couldn't film the Tuesday Studio Video Visit, so I will pick up with those next week. Thanks for your patience. 

Excitedly talking about art 

In other, other news, I have enjoyed a bit of artist mentoring again lately and am reminded how much I love that work. If you are interested in working with me please book an appointment through my ko-fi shop. Currently, one hour of mentoring costs £20.

I offer one-to-one email or video mentoring for artists who are at a crossroads with their work or for those who have been away from their art for a while and want to return to it. We can examine your past work, creative habits, and blocks - working together to push through obstacles in a supportive, encouraging, and yet challenging way.

Thanks to all the artists past and present that have used my mentoring service over the years, thank you for trusting me with your thoughts, feelings, and of course your work. It's always an honour. 

Click here to book an appointment: https://ko-fi.com/s/d7d95833e0

One pigeon wing to tether a ghost's heart 

And last but certainly not least, I am delighted to share that I have had a drawing published in issue #3 of 'Less' a journal on degrowth, radical sufficiency and decolonisation in Scotland, produced by Enough! Scotland. The drawing above can be seen next to 'Unlearning empire ~ re-membering earth' by Vishwam Heckert

Vishwam explores how we move beyond empire and imperialism, abstraction and disconnection: “...if we wish to transform our world, we cannot do so without unlearning the embodied and psychic habit of separating ‘us’ and ‘them’ or ‘me’ from the ‘world’.

Pick up a copy at any of the COP26 civic hubs in Glasgow:

– Govan Free State at the GalGael Trust

– COP26 Coalition – Adelaide Place
– Centre for Contemporary Arts CCA Glasgow

– The Centre for Human Ecology’s Clydeside Sessions at the Pearce Institute
– The Tramway

Copies will be distributed to hubs across Scotland shortly – watch this space!

I hope you will pick up a copy and give Enough a follow on Twitter.

That's all I have for you this week. I hope you are well, happy, and inspired (to raise a little hell). Until next week, keep fighting.

Now showing at Solo Gallery

This week I thought I would shine a spotlight on the seven paintings that are currently with the lovely Solo Gallery in Innerleithen, in the Scottish Borders.

A Shift in the weather

76x76x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2016
£1,350

To Tell You Everything  
40x40x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2017
£550

Where We Say Goodbye
40x40x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2017
Sold

Far Away
40x40x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2017
£550

Precipice
51x41x4cm
Mixed media on canvas
2017
Sold

On the wind
Mixed media on canvas
20x20x4cm
2019
Sold

The sea whispers to me
Mixed media on canvas
20x20x4cm
2019
£325 (framed)

Contact gallery owner Kate Hayes or go by the gallery in person to enjoy these works of mine and the many other brilliant works on show at the lovely Solo Gallery.

51 High Street, Innerleithen EH44 6HD 

Phone: 07495 710687
Gallery hours:
10am - 5pm daily, except on Tuesday when the gallery is closed. The gallery is also open on Sunday from 12-4pm.

Follow the gallery's Facebook and Instagram pages to stay updated as well. 

I am delighted to be showing with a new vibrant and exciting gallery specialising in contemporary arts and crafts.

UPDATE: I have created a short podcast to go with these works. I hope it will add something to your enjoyment of the work. Listen here: 

Listen to "Megan Chapman: Solo Gallery: Innerleithen" on Spreaker. 
Next week, we will be talking about all things Oxford, and the Irving Gallery's exhibition, "A place to breathe" which opens Feb. 29th, featuring six of my paintings as well as the wonderful work of many other talented artists! Until next week, I hope you are well, happy, and inspired. Thanks for being here with me.