Beautifully Twisted
Art Market Spotlight With Meghan Magri
After graduating just as the pandemic began, Magri worked a series of jobs while figuring out how art could fit into her life. She moved to Rhode Island and spent four years apprenticing under a master jeweler in Providence, drawn in by the city’s creative, eccentric energy. Still, she felt pulled toward the expressive freedom of drawing. Last July, she and her husband — who is from Lincolnville — moved back to Maine. His encouragement helped reignite her creative practice, and over the past year she’s focused on developing her technique and finding her artistic voice. Now she’s taking an exciting next step: sharing and selling her work publicly for the first time, through the Waterfall Arts Summer Art Market. She credits the warmth of the Maine arts community for giving her the push to do it.
Humor, surprise, memory, and mental health all shape Magri’s practice. Raised mostly by her father, whose irreverent sense of humor pushed boundaries, she learned early to appreciate the power of the unexpected. She enjoys shocking people, creating moments of tension, and watching how they react. “I love the shock,” she says, describing her approach as a kind of comedic redirection. Her work explores memory and dream, perception and metaphor, often finding beauty in what’s strange or twisted. Her long-term goals include a gallery show and, someday, seeing her work in publications like The New Yorker. For now, she’s embracing the process of finding her voice and making work that’s “beautiful in its own twisted way.”
“Waterfall Arts has impacted my journey in so many ways. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and taking classes from talented teachers like Sharon Warren and Tim Conte. It’s been a great space to keep exercising my skills and learning something new — but it’s also been a huge help in finding community and connection. So many brilliant artists take advantage of what Waterfall Arts has to offer, and it’s wonderful having a space where you get to meet local artists and see their work in person. The environment Waterfall Arts has cultivated makes it easy for any young artist — or art lover — to get involved. The people I’ve met here have given me the confidence to get out of my comfort zone, network, showcase my art, and keep working hard at my dreams.”
As the Waterfall Arts Summer Art Market winds down at the end of the month, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the talented artists and makers who shared their work with our community. We recently sat down with artist and Art Market vendor Meghan Magri to learn more about her creative journey, the experiences that have shaped her work, and the inspiration behind her playful, unexpected, and beautifully twisted perspective. We’re grateful to Meghan for sharing her story with us and for being part of this year’s Art Market.
Originally from Vermont’s Champlain Islands, Meghan Magri grew up in a family where creativity was encouraged. Her home was filled with movies, fantasy, and imagination. Her father was a huge fan of The NeverEnding Story and The Dark Crystal, while both parents loved Fraggle Rock and the Muppets. Her mother kept a large costume chest that became a source of endless play, and neighborhood friends shared her love of theater and make-believe — one even had a stage in her basement where they’d put on shows. Magri began drawing at a young age, inspired by her mother, who created linework for homemade coloring books and encouraged her to make her own.
That early encouragement grew into a serious interest in art. Through Vermont’s school choice program, Magri attended Essex High School’s Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, where she explored AP Art, guerrilla art, theater, set design, and illustration. A particularly meaningful capstone project involved painting portraits of women staying at a women’s shelter, deepening her desire to find truth and meaning in her work. She went on to study animation and illustration at Northern Vermont University, where she began using art to explore her own experiences and develop her voice. College gave her room to push boundaries and test how far she could take an idea — including one memorable argument with a professor over whether it was “appropriate to put a butthole on a cat.”
Experience Meghan Magri’s work firsthand at the Waterfall Arts Summer Art Market on Friday, September 11. Come meet Meghan, explore her work in person, and discover the playful, unexpected, and beautifully twisted perspective behind her art. Can’t make it to the market? You can purchase her work directly through her website and follow her artistic journey at meghanmagri.com.