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Megan (Chain) Driving Hawk has exhibited in over 25 group exhibitions in galleries located in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Her work is part of the Northlight Gallery permanent collection in Arizona and has been reviewed in Jackalope Ranch, ASU News, Tempe Republic, The State Press, Phoenix New Times, and the Navajo-Hopi Observer. She has given numerous artist lectures, workshops, and panels at Arizona State University and the Phoenix Indian Center. In 2011, she traveled abroad and completed an artist residency in Italy. In 2016, she worked as an assistant muralist for the Community Roots Mural at Take Root Cafe in Kirksville, Missouri. In 2017, Driving Hawk worked on separate artist-led participatory projects and public art pieces with Luna City2175, The Green Thumb Project, Take Root Cafe, and Park River Toolkit. M. Driving Hawk grew up in the suburban and country areas outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a specialization in Photography and a minor in Women and Gender Studies from Arizona State University in 2010. In 2014, she earned a Master of Secondary Education and Teacher Certification in Art K-12 from Arizona State University. On a long-term residency from 2016-2018 she lived in Kirksville, Missouri where she taught art and attended a low-residency graduate program at the University of Hartford. In 2018, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies. She is an Artist/Mother & Educator currently living in Phoenix, Arizona where she teaches high school traditional photography. She serves as the campus Indigenous Student and Youth Equity Stewardship Advisors.
Published on May 25th, 2021. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What hurdles have you overcome this year and how have they affected your art practice?
I had a baby at the beginning of a pandemic and returned from maternity leave early to prepare for online learning just days after having perineal surgery at 6 weeks postpartum. However, as of this writing (8.28.20), the hardest hurdle has been returning full-time to the virtual classroom in the fall. In the weeks leading up to the birth of my son, I had such a creative surge. I took off the week leading up to his birth. I exercised, rested, journaled, beaded, photographed, and wrote poetry. In the first weeks after his birth, during the long, late-night, feedings I generated so many creative ideas. I saw his birth as an opportunity to start time-based projects. I have written a line to a poem every day since he was born. After he was two months old, I started creating daily double exposures. However, going back to work has been, by far, the greatest hurdle because of the time it takes away from my family and time to follow through on my creative ideas.
How has your art practice been affected by the pandemic?
Since becoming a mother and the pandemic hit all at the same time, I can’t decipher how they each affected my practice. However, the pandemic has affected the kind of postpartum care I have received which directly relates to what I am addressing in my artwork. I visually documented each doctor’s visit from birth to full clearance by designing a beaded piece for my series, Whispers. Alternatively, I haven’t been able to print in the darkroom or develop film, so I’ve had to put a couple ideas on hold. Quarantine has allowed me the time to execute other ideas that I have floating in my head and written in my idea journal. I participated in the Artist/Mother Podcast Crit Group program which, was an excellent way of holding myself accountable. Additionally, I was able to take online workshops from Independent institutions in other states that I wouldn’t normally be able to support or attend if they were held in person.
What support systems have you put in place to help keep your practice thriving amidst these unforeseeable circumstances?
Even before we had a baby, my husband has always supported making space for me to create. I currently live with my in-laws and my mother moved across the country while I was pregnant to be closer. Thankfully she has been part of our quarantine group. Additionally, I have some awesome organizational skills. I keep a daily planner and many idea notebooks. I block off time in my planner for all my priorities like exercise, artmaking, and family time. I have a complex journaling and planner system that I’ve developed over many years. I have different notebooks and sketchbooks for titling, workshops/podcast notes, thoughts, collage, beading designs, fiber project planning, film development, and darkroom printing. Having extensive notes allows me to put one body of work down for an extended amount of time and return to it when I’m ready. Working on multiple bodies of work at one time so that allows me to be flexible, keeps the creativity flowing, and fits with the way my brain works. They all feed each other even if they seem different on the surface.
What methods do you employ to stay resilient in your art practice? What tips would you recommend to other artists who find staying resilient difficult?
Organize and prioritize. Making art is a priority for me, even as a new mom, so I build it into my schedule. Also, I make it as accessible as possible by being realistic with myself. Right now, it is not realistic for me to bead during the day because that would mean getting out tiny little beads around my baby. However, it is realistic for me to design the beaded pieces. My advice would be to find the things that will help hold you accountable. For me it was participating in the #the100dayproject and joining the Artist/Mother Podcast Spring Crit Group. I decided on a project that I could manage at the time with a 2-month-old; I started creating daily digital double exposures and to wrote in little bits at a time. Also, my art practice looks a little different right now because I have a small child and that’s OK. Being flexible with what “studio” time looks like and what “artmaking” looks like has been important for me.
What have you learned about yourself as an artist this year?
I have become less interested in spending time on gallery representation and more interested in finding community. Once Little Fox was born, I knew I needed to surround myself with other Artist/Mothers who understand the struggle of keeping up with an artmaking practice while raising children. Another community that has been important has been the Teaching Artist Podcast. I have become picky about where I put my efforts in showing my work. This is the opposite of what we learn in undergraduate school and almost everywhere else. However, I have had some really meaningful opportunities come out of the calls for art that I’ve chosen to submit to plus, I have felt really great about deciding not to spend money on other calls for art. Even the rejection letters are easier to receive! Lastly, this past year has taught me to be more confident in my voice and perspective. This is and always has been a work in progress. I am a white wife and mother to Lakȟóta men, making artwork about my experience. I often feel conflicted between the notions that the world doesn’t need more white voices and my voice & perspective are valid & necessary.
What hurdles have you overcome this year and how have they affected your art practice?
I had a baby at the beginning of a pandemic and returned from maternity leave early to prepare for online learning just days after having perineal surgery at 6 weeks postpartum. However, as of this writing (8.28.20), the hardest hurdle has been returning full-time to the virtual classroom in the fall. In the weeks leading up to the birth of my son, I had such a creative surge. I took off the week leading up to his birth. I exercised, rested, journaled, beaded, photographed, and wrote poetry. In the first weeks after his birth, during the long, late-night, feedings I generated so many creative ideas. I saw his birth as an opportunity to start time-based projects. I have written a line to a poem every day since he was born. After he was two months old, I started creating daily double exposures. However, going back to work has been, by far, the greatest hurdle because of the time it takes away from my family and time to follow through on my creative ideas.
How has your art practice been affected by the pandemic?
Since becoming a mother and the pandemic hit all at the same time, I can’t decipher how they each affected my practice. However, the pandemic has affected the kind of postpartum care I have received which directly relates to what I am addressing in my artwork. I visually documented each doctor’s visit from birth to full clearance by designing a beaded piece for my series, Whispers. Alternatively, I haven’t been able to print in the darkroom or develop film, so I’ve had to put a couple ideas on hold. Quarantine has allowed me the time to execute other ideas that I have floating in my head and written in my idea journal. I participated in the Artist/Mother Podcast Crit Group program which, was an excellent way of holding myself accountable. Additionally, I was able to take online workshops from Independent institutions in other states that I wouldn’t normally be able to support or attend if they were held in person.
What support systems have you put in place to help keep your practice thriving amidst these unforeseeable circumstances?
Even before we had a baby, my husband has always supported making space for me to create. I currently live with my in-laws and my mother moved across the country while I was pregnant to be closer. Thankfully she has been part of our quarantine group. Additionally, I have some awesome organizational skills. I keep a daily planner and many idea notebooks. I block off time in my planner for all my priorities like exercise, artmaking, and family time. I have a complex journaling and planner system that I’ve developed over many years. I have different notebooks and sketchbooks for titling, workshops/podcast notes, thoughts, collage, beading designs, fiber project planning, film development, and darkroom printing. Having extensive notes allows me to put one body of work down for an extended amount of time and return to it when I’m ready. Working on multiple bodies of work at one time so that allows me to be flexible, keeps the creativity flowing, and fits with the way my brain works. They all feed each other even if they seem different on the surface.
What methods do you employ to stay resilient in your art practice? What tips would you recommend to other artists who find staying resilient difficult?
Organize and prioritize. Making art is a priority for me, even as a new mom, so I build it into my schedule. Also, I make it as accessible as possible by being realistic with myself. Right now, it is not realistic for me to bead during the day because that would mean getting out tiny little beads around my baby. However, it is realistic for me to design the beaded pieces. My advice would be to find the things that will help hold you accountable. For me it was participating in the #the100dayproject and joining the Artist/Mother Podcast Spring Crit Group. I decided on a project that I could manage at the time with a 2-month-old; I started creating daily digital double exposures and to wrote in little bits at a time. Also, my art practice looks a little different right now because I have a small child and that’s OK. Being flexible with what “studio” time looks like and what “artmaking” looks like has been important for me.
What have you learned about yourself as an artist this year?
I have become less interested in spending time on gallery representation and more interested in finding community. Once Little Fox was born, I knew I needed to surround myself with other Artist/Mothers who understand the struggle of keeping up with an artmaking practice while raising children. Another community that has been important has been the Teaching Artist Podcast. I have become picky about where I put my efforts in showing my work. This is the opposite of what we learn in undergraduate school and almost everywhere else. However, I have had some really meaningful opportunities come out of the calls for art that I’ve chosen to submit to plus, I have felt really great about deciding not to spend money on other calls for art. Even the rejection letters are easier to receive! Lastly, this past year has taught me to be more confident in my voice and perspective. This is and always has been a work in progress. I am a white wife and mother to Lakȟóta men, making artwork about my experience. I often feel conflicted between the notions that the world doesn’t need more white voices and my voice & perspective are valid & necessary.
Find Megan Driving Hawk on Instagram
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