Sandra Meigs facts for kids

Sandra Meigs (born in 1953) is a Canadian artist who creates visual art. She lives and works in British Columbia, Canada. Her paintings have been shown in many places both in Canada and around the world. She is also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

About Sandra Meigs

Sandra Meigs was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1953. She studied ceramics at the Rhode Island School of Design from 1971 to 1973. She then earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1975. Later, she completed her Master of Arts in Philosophy at Dalhousie University in 1980.

Sandra Meigs started her career as a painter in Toronto. In 1993, she moved to Victoria, British Columbia. There, she became a Professor in Visual Arts at the University of Victoria. She taught painting and art theory to students at all levels for 24 years. She retired from teaching in July 2017.

Her Unique Art Style

Sandra Meigs is famous for her bright and mysterious paintings. Her artworks often tell complex stories and include funny parts. Her paintings can make you think deeply, as they slowly reveal different meanings.

Meigs' art often explores feelings and big ideas about life. As one art critic, John Bentley Mays, said, her topics are about "the body, light and darkness, storytelling." Her works usually have a surprising twist that makes viewers look for many different meanings.

Her paintings might look simple at first glance. However, they are carefully planned with textured surfaces and unique shapes. She builds up layers on the canvas to create smooth, raised lines. These lines and shapes hold many surprises for those who look closely. Sandra Meigs also tries out new methods and unusual materials in her art. For example, her 2010 series called The Fold Heads mixes painting with sculpture.

Teaching Art to Students

While studying for her Master's degree, Sandra Meigs worked as a teaching assistant at Dalhousie University from 1977 to 1979. From 1983 onwards, she taught art techniques in Banff. She also worked as a chief assistant for the Visual Art Department at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

From 1984 to 1985, she was an art instructor at York University. She later became a guest advisor for graduate students at York University. Between 1990 and 1993, she taught introduction to painting at the University of Toronto. After that, she joined the University of Victoria as an associate professor in Visual Arts. She taught there for 24 years, focusing on hands-on learning, before retiring in 2017.

Notable Artworks

Sandra Meigs has created many interesting art pieces throughout her career. Here are some of her well-known works:

• Room of 1000 Paintings (1986): This artwork was shown at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. It was a room filled with paintings in plain colors, showing many faces with different feelings.
• Love Muscle (1989): When this work was shown at the National Gallery of Canada, each painting's title was one word from a long sentence.
• Baby (1994): This series included 12 paintings made with oil on linen, cedar, and plywood. They were like children's nursery rhymes and told the story of a woman who drops her baby in a canyon.
• Canadian (1995): This series had 15 abstract landscape paintings using oil on linen. They were shown at the Art Gallery of Ontario and were inspired by children's books and fairy tales.
• Reckless Days (1997): These 8 artworks were displayed in a row at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. They used oil on panel, electric lights, and silver material. Each painting was named after a time of day, but they were not shown in order.
• Resin Heads (1988): These 25 paintings looked like human faces and were made from fiberglass and other materials. They were shown with two circular floor displays that changed words like "RESIN" and "HEADS." Art critic Blake Gopnik described this exhibit as a "study in emotional minimalism."
• The Newborn (2001): These 12 paintings were shown at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Meigs got the idea for this work while visiting Cougar Annie's Garden. It tells a story in a fairy tale style.
• Fold Heads (2009): This exhibit featured eight paintings with acrylic and mixed media on oddly shaped canvases. They also had neon lights with phrases like "the FOLD HEADS EVER SO GOTTA GO HEY TO PLEASURE’S MINE FEELIN’ FINE LUV YA SO FEELIN’LO with MISTER WHISTLER.” These were displayed at the Susan Hobbs Gallery.
• The Basement Panoramas (2013): This work includes four large panorama paintings. They use acrylic on canvas to show personal moments from Sandra Meigs' life.
• Room for Mystics (2017): Meigs created this work with Christopher Butterfield. It had 30 paintings, wall banners, and sound equipment. Some paintings were on easels in the middle of the room, while others hung on the walls. This was the display Meigs made after winning the Gershon Iskowitz Prize.
• TERRE VERTE (2019): This series of paintings explores the nature and spirit of the grasslands in Southern Alberta. Meigs painted these landscapes outdoors over 28 years. Each painting shows an experience with the living system of this diverse area. These works were shown in a solo exhibition at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery.

Meigs often visited the McIntyre Ranch, a large ranch established in 1898. She was part of two research projects there in 1991 and 2004. These projects involved artists, curators, and biologists. Her continued research there from 2017 to 2019 led to paintings of the plants, wildlife, and birds of the region. She uses bright colors and the symbol of a vortex to show the landscape as alive.

Sandra Meigs shared a special experience she had while working in Southern Alberta:

"One day I was observing a far-off eagle nest with my binoculars. The nest was on the side of the cliff, built into the clinging remnant of a tree that had tried to grow there. During this drawing session the sky darkened and it became very windy. A rainstorm began. Under my rain jacket I watched the eagle and her chicks, the mother gliding high in the dark sky, swooping low and hunting prey for her babies, then dropping the food in the nest. It was one of the most profound experiences I remember ever having in nature."

For her 2023 exhibition Sandra Meigs: Divine Rage at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, she found inspiration in Ontario's landscapes, especially the woods in Algonquin Park and Lake Calabogie.

Meigs also wrote a book of poems called Heavens to Betsy, published in 1983. Many of her art shows include poetry, but she also publishes her poems separately.

Awards and Recognition

Sandra Meigs has received several important awards for her art:

• In 2015, she won the Gershon Iskowitz Prize, which included a $50,000 cash prize. She also received an extra $10,000 to help her publish more work. Winning this prize meant she would have a solo show at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her exhibition, Room for Mystics, was shown in 2017. It was delayed because she needed more time to complete all 30 paintings.
• Also in 2015, she was one of eight artists to receive the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts. This award meant her work was featured at the National Gallery of Canada.
• Meigs has also been named a fellow at the Royal Society of Canada. She was recognized as a Canadian Council Laureate, and a film was made to celebrate her achievement.