Megan Cassidy's Projects

BFA Student

Major: Painting

Graduation Year: 2017

Artist Statement:

My thesis body of work "The Places I’ve Lived" explores underlying themes of home and mindfulness through the object of the paper miniature. From memory, I have recreated rooms from apartments that my partner and I have called home over the last few years. In the past I had been compelled to create artwork about hypothetical "dream" home environments, but eventually became very aware that I was not acknowledging my present living situation, which is a treasure. This epiphany led me to becoming more grateful and aware of what I have currently, instead of always dreaming about the "some day."

The paper miniature is a tool which encourages mindfulness by pausing time outside of itself, allowing the maker and the viewer to become fully present when interacting with it. By depicting these home interiors using skewed and imperfect lines, as well as two-dimensional and three-dimensional components, I hope to transport my viewer to a whimsical yet familiar space which creates a sense of joy and childlike wonder while encouraging them to focus on the present moment.

Biography:

Megan Cassidy is an artist whose work explores underlying themes of home and mindfulness. Working with watercolor and paper, she constructs home interiors from memory with whimsical personalities in miniature form. Utilizing the miniature as a tool to pause time, she encourages the viewer to become completely present in observing the small details within the familiar yet quirky spaces.

Megan is inspired by her home life with her partner and orange tabby cat, as well as her indoor garden. Before graduating from MECA in 2017, she studied Fine Arts at HVCC in Troy, NY. She is originally from Brookhaven, NY.