Meghan Stratman

I live in Lincoln, Nebraska with a grouchy little dog-monster that I love. I studied graphic design and studio art in college (after realizing that I did not have the patience for computer animation), which is also when I first started playing around with paper collage. I have a graphic design day-job at an art-house movie theatre.

I am basically a pop-culture sponge - books, movies, video games, comics, and music all have a big presence in my brain and my art. I also draw a lot of inspiration from mythology, folk-tales, and ghost stories. I grew up in a theatrical family (both of my parents work in the theatre) so I have always been surrounded by stories and story-tellers. The natural world is also a very notable inspiration; I have an affinity for plants, rocks, animals, and bugs (despite my complicated relationship with spiders). 

Growing up as a theatre kid, the walls of my room were usually covered with pieces of sets or theatre-related posters (Les Miserables featured very prominently). I had the requisite glowing stars on the ceiling, sparkly stuffed dragons and dinosaurs, and at least one rodent or aquatic pet at any given time. When I got a little older I started painting “profound” movie and theatre quotes on the back of my bedroom door; important works such as A Tale of Two Cities, Phantom of the Opera, and Austen Powers.

I was always a weird, arty kid. I loved making any kind of art I could: painting, drawing, photography, really awful pottery, you name it. I have an incredibly creative, supportive family that nurtured that artistic excitement. 

What does your studio look like?

My studio is in a constant state of semi-chaos and I desperately need to invest in a larger desk. My little dog has his own chair and blanket but usually insists on sitting with me (or directly under my chair) while I am working. 

I usually start with a drawing in my sketchbook, which I will work on and refine until I have a good idea of what I want to translate to a collage. I will make a scan of this sketch and clean and alter it on my computer, working up to a final lay-out and color scheme. I print this final piece and use it as a template for the collage - going over the drawing with tracing paper and figuring out all of the layers and pieces that will be needed to make it out of paper. Then it’s a matter of cutting, assembling, gluing, and building the actual collage.

    

    

You can see more of my work on my website (www.bunnypirates.com) and on Instagram, Facebook, or Tumblr (bunnypirates). 

I will be participating in a number of pop-culture group shows this year and am very excited for an upcoming 3-person show with Belinda Rodriguez and Jackie Huang at Gallery1988 in 2018!