By Kristine Thomas
When Megan Deede quit fighting the inevitable, her dreams and goals began to fall into place.
“I always knew what I wanted to do, but at the beginning I didn’t think it was actually going to happen,” she said. “It took me awhile to just go there.”
Deede, 21, has always known she wanted to be an artist and attend an art college. A lack of confidence prevented her from applying to art colleges while she was in high school.
“I didn’t think I could get in an art school or that I could be successful,” she said. “I am a perfectionist and I was afraid of failure.”
Worries she wouldn’t be able to get an art-based job or financially support herself as an artist prevented her from taking the steps to fulfill her ambitions.
“I didn’t think it would be acceptable to pursue an art degree,” she said.
Thankfully, she said, her friends, family and a professor at Chemeketa Community College opened her mind to the many possibilities before her and encouraged her to go for it.
Casting aside her need to have everything perfect, she spent a year putting together her art portfolio and applying to colleges. The work and the life lessons were well worth it, she has discovered.
This fall, Deede will attend Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Mass.
“It’ a huge accomplishment,” she said about her acceptance.
Founded in 1970, Montserrat is one of the top art colleges in the United States.
Looking back, Deede realizes all her worries were for naught. She received acceptance letters from all three art colleges to which she applied. Her other choices were the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Penn., and Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland.
Having people who believed in her and her abilities gave Deede the confidence she needed to pursue her goals.
“During my moments of doubt, my friends and family really came through for me,” she said.
She’s grateful to her family, especially her mom, Patricia Mandeville, who “did everything she could to help me,” and her friends, Reneé Bianchi and Celia Stapleton.
“I really love Renee and Celia,” she said. “It’s refreshing to be around artists like them.”
Jane Lieber Mays, an art professor at Chemeketa Community College, made a huge difference in her life, she said. “She was a fantastic teacher. She taught me so much about art and how it was integrated with myself and other areas of my life.”
Mays also encouraged Deede to feel more confident and to apply to art colleges.
“I also learned to do the art I like,” she said. “I like working in mixed media because I like the different materials and feel my art has a wider range when I am using different materials.”
Since art is not taken seriously by our culture, Mays said, it is not easy for artists to outwardly choose and defend it as a career path.
“As an instructor, it is hard to watch students drop their dreams for economic reasons, even when many careers in art like graphic design are financially feasible,” Mays said. “Megan has weathered this internal debate – she has elected to take professional responsibility for the talents she has nurtured privately.”
Mays said Deede begins this new phase of her life “as the poised and centered young woman she has become. And, I can’t wait to see what will come of it!”
Mays described Deede’s artwork as an interesting balance of realism and playful curiosity.
“For example, Megan often explores the possibilities of contour line in combination with detailed value studies, pushing her drawings beyond a logical resolution. She combines skillful realism with the unexpected mark that springs from her buoyant spirit. The tension of these opposites is energizing and revealing,” she said.
Deede’s artwork will be featured at Stone Buddha, 216 E. Main St., Silverton, throughout August including First Friday on Aug. 7.
Deede said the inspiration to create “Korean Kitchen” came from many different sources.
“Working around Asian art and designs has provided me with a steady stream of visual ideas different from what I have previously used in my work,” she said. “My own experiments with mixed media and collage are what led me to create ‘Korean Kitchen’ using so many types of media.”
The idea to use recipes as the focus of this series of art evolved from her personal writings and from talking with others about the role of the kitchen at the center of the home.
“Recipes and meal making represent a family’s traditions and what an important role cooking and eating together plays in the role of the family,” she said.
Rick Longo, the dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management, Montserrat College of Art, said, “It is rare that a transfer student (such as Megan) coming from a community college is placed at the third-year level at an independent college of art like Montserrat.”
From reviewing her application, Longo said he learned how Deede has grown as an artist, especially during her years at Chemeketa. He said he believes she is a perfect fit for Montserrat as well as Montserrat being a perfect fit for her.
“More so than her fine portfolio and strong academic record, Megan offered a spirit and openness that is vital to finding one’s art while Montserrat offered the level of community and challenge, support and inspiration necessary for creativity, story, and voice to grow art,” Longo said. “It is clear that Megan is ready to fly and that she will reach great heights as a student at Montserrat.”
From observing Bianchi and Stapleton as well as other Silverton artists, Deede knows she can be an artist and have a career.
“Back when I was talking myself out of pursuing an art degree, I thought to be a valid artist you had to be successful with a gallery,” she said. “Now I know that’s not true. I think I am being successful as an artist by going to Montserrat.”
