​
​Born in Vermont, Megan spent her childhood exploring the forests of the Green Mountains. It was there that she developed a penchant for drawing as a means to connect with the land, plants and animals around her. This love of the natural world led her to garner degrees from Evergreen State College and the University of Toronto, where she studied ecology and scientific illustration. Megan’s work has won several awards and been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals including Nature, New Phytologist and Ecological Applications, among others.
In 2010 Saunders’ life changed drastically when she suffered an onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Suddenly disabled, drawing and painting became a way to rediscover beauty amidst the challenges of living with chronic pain. Now primarily a watercolor artist, she seeks to express the delicate strength that characterizes the human condition. “There is a sense of freedom in painting with watercolor, a vibrancy and flow that keeps the images dynamic, fresh. Transparent layers can be built up slowly, creating a depth and complexity that aptly describes both the fragile nature of flesh and the ever changing mosaic of our inner worlds. I find a truth here, that despite the unpredictable and sometimes painful nature of life, there is always beauty to be found. Despite our sense of isolation, we are always intimately connected to the creatures and objects around us.” - M.S.
Choice of surface is important in Megan’s process. She uses clay coated panels that can take many layers of paint while retaining the brilliance of the pigment, allowing for creation of figures that seem lit from within. She has taught these techniques as a representative for the Ampersand Art Supply company. Saunders has exhibited her illustrations and paintings across the US, most recently in her current hometown of Nashville, TN.
The interplay between meditation and art making is integral to Saunders’ work, stretching back to the formative years when she hiked into the forest daily to meditate and draw. For Megan, meditation is a gateway to thoughtful observation of inner and outer worlds, a means of connection that helps to infuse her work with a palpable sense of vitality.
In 2016 Megan became a certified meditation teacher with Suffering & Delight, a program that works with those living with chronic pain and illness. She uses art and meditation techniques to help students develop a well-rounded, sustainable art practice, and is currently in collaboration with San Francisco based nonprofit, the Art Monastery, to offer such classes. “Learning to draw is a skill that can be achieved by studying specific methods and working on them over time. The same is true for building a healthy inner artist’s life. By compassionately connecting with yourself you can dissolve mental barriers and gain greater intuitive clarity, thereby increasing your possible range of self expression. By working with both sets of skills, art and meditative, you can progress artistically while establishing a creative practice that is a place of refuge.” - M.S.