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Megan Driving Hawk is an Artist/Mother/Educator practicing habits of the heart to facilitate connection, healing, and learning. Creatively she researches collective healing, generational trauma, memory, and time. Academically, she researches culturally responsive teaching in art and Indigenous education. She earned a BFA in Fine Art Photography from Arizona State University, an MEd in Secondary Education with a teacher certification in Art K-12 from ASU, and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Hartford. She is SEI and CTE endorsed. Driving Hawk is an artist of Eye Lounge, an artist collective in Phoenix, Arizona; Spilt Milk, a social enterprise making motherhoods visible based in Edinburg, Scotland; TWIRL, an online editorial of artist interviews spanning a decade; and Running With Purpose, a running club using running as a platform for action.
Her artwork has been reviewed, collected, and exhibited throughout present-day U.S. and internationally. She has been invited as guest lecturer, workshop facilitator, panelist, and podcast interviewee for various events. Her most recent awards include honorable mention in the Women Photographing Women category of the 2020 Julia Margaret Cameron Awards and a recipient of the 2020 Chandler Education Association Member-to-Member grant. She has been an artist in residence at Missouri Artist Residency (2016-2018), Artist Residency in Motherhood (2020-2021), and Stay Home Gallery & Residency (2021).
Driving Hawk currently lives on O’odham Jewed, Akimel O’odham (Upper Pima) and Hohokam lands in present day Phoenix, Arizona where she teaches high school traditional photography including dual enrollment and AP-2D classes. This is her ninth year of teaching, fifth year as the campus Indigenous Student Advisor, and fourth year on the Equity team. She currently serves as the Arizona Art Education Association Equity Diversity & Inclusion Rep and Secondary Chair.
Her artwork has been reviewed, collected, and exhibited throughout present-day U.S. and internationally. She has been invited as guest lecturer, workshop facilitator, panelist, and podcast interviewee for various events. Her most recent awards include honorable mention in the Women Photographing Women category of the 2020 Julia Margaret Cameron Awards and a recipient of the 2020 Chandler Education Association Member-to-Member grant. She has been an artist in residence at Missouri Artist Residency (2016-2018), Artist Residency in Motherhood (2020-2021), and Stay Home Gallery & Residency (2021).
Driving Hawk currently lives on O’odham Jewed, Akimel O’odham (Upper Pima) and Hohokam lands in present day Phoenix, Arizona where she teaches high school traditional photography including dual enrollment and AP-2D classes. This is her ninth year of teaching, fifth year as the campus Indigenous Student Advisor, and fourth year on the Equity team. She currently serves as the Arizona Art Education Association Equity Diversity & Inclusion Rep and Secondary Chair.
Published on May 19th, 2022. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
I’m excited that I have a process and result that I’m proud of. I am proud of the work that I hung in The First Year: accepting the healing space that mothering takes up, my first solo show at Eye Lounge (Phoenix, Az) in July 2021. I’m making work that I’ve always wanted to make but wasn’t mature enough before. I’m excited about the opportunities that have come from that show which has allowed my practice to take new forms. I can’t share too much right now but hopefully I will be able to soon!
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
My son has shifted from a baby to a very mobile toddler. Although he is great at solo play, he is a busy climber that needs part of my attention most of the time. Thankfully, he still enjoys running, hiking, and taking walks together and he is still contained in a backpack/stroller. Keeping up with his change of pace, and always shifting needs is my biggest challenge. Once we find a rhythm that works, one of us changes and I am constantly reassessing our routine. Some days are easier than others to stay flexible. Currently I am making lots of film photographs, but have less time to develop them. I just keep reminding myself that none of these phases are permanent and later I will have more time to do the things I can’t now. My job is to find what works now and work on that.
Secondly, I am trying to manage the increase in admin time and the decrease in art making time that comes with two solo shows in one year.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
We moved this year so my studio went from a desk in a shared room to what would be the dining room in the middle of our house. It is my staging area when I pack us up to go for a hike and doubles as a playroom for my toddler while I’m in there working.
A typical day in the studio changes with every season and the changing needs of my son. During the first third of the year, I worked in my classroom after my contracted teaching hours. In the summer months, my studio was everywhere. It was the stroller on our walk/runs in the early morning, outside in the backyard late morning, on the living room floor in the afternoon, the kitchen table at nap time or the nursing chair if he didn’t fall asleep on his own, and my bed after his bedtime. Now I’m back to scheduling time in my classroom after contracted teaching hours, and walking/running in the morning on the weekend. Sometimes I work on art-making or admin tasks during nap time and other days I rest. We hike on days that I have off in addition to the weekend.
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
At the beginning of the year, I took a professional development class called, Wearing All The Hats. It’s a professional development class created by artist/mothers for artist/mothers on the Artist/Mother Network. It has been, by far, the best professional development course I have ever taken. If there are other artist/mothers reading this, I highly suggest it and recommend looping into the community. I started listening to the podcast in my early postpartum days and it really changed the way I viewed artmaking and motherhood. Having multiple examples of other artist-mamas making it work gave me the confidence to make it work for me. (I promise I don’t get paid to advertise for them! I just believe in the community so much.)
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
I am looking forward to all the unknowns. This last year brought so many rewards that I could not have planned. I hope to follow through on some of the new and collaborative ideas that have been generated this year.
2022 brings my second show at Eye Lounge which means I need something in final form. I’m excited to see what that looks like.
My goal is to finish all the Pregnancy & Postpartum in the COVID-19 Pandemic handmade books I started last year and send them off to the collaborators before the end of 2022.
I’m also striving for balance and sustainability. I don’t think there is a one size fits all answer or even the same answer everyday for the same person. So, I’m always striving to have some sort of balance daily, monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
I’m excited that I have a process and result that I’m proud of. I am proud of the work that I hung in The First Year: accepting the healing space that mothering takes up, my first solo show at Eye Lounge (Phoenix, Az) in July 2021. I’m making work that I’ve always wanted to make but wasn’t mature enough before. I’m excited about the opportunities that have come from that show which has allowed my practice to take new forms. I can’t share too much right now but hopefully I will be able to soon!
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
My son has shifted from a baby to a very mobile toddler. Although he is great at solo play, he is a busy climber that needs part of my attention most of the time. Thankfully, he still enjoys running, hiking, and taking walks together and he is still contained in a backpack/stroller. Keeping up with his change of pace, and always shifting needs is my biggest challenge. Once we find a rhythm that works, one of us changes and I am constantly reassessing our routine. Some days are easier than others to stay flexible. Currently I am making lots of film photographs, but have less time to develop them. I just keep reminding myself that none of these phases are permanent and later I will have more time to do the things I can’t now. My job is to find what works now and work on that.
Secondly, I am trying to manage the increase in admin time and the decrease in art making time that comes with two solo shows in one year.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
We moved this year so my studio went from a desk in a shared room to what would be the dining room in the middle of our house. It is my staging area when I pack us up to go for a hike and doubles as a playroom for my toddler while I’m in there working.
A typical day in the studio changes with every season and the changing needs of my son. During the first third of the year, I worked in my classroom after my contracted teaching hours. In the summer months, my studio was everywhere. It was the stroller on our walk/runs in the early morning, outside in the backyard late morning, on the living room floor in the afternoon, the kitchen table at nap time or the nursing chair if he didn’t fall asleep on his own, and my bed after his bedtime. Now I’m back to scheduling time in my classroom after contracted teaching hours, and walking/running in the morning on the weekend. Sometimes I work on art-making or admin tasks during nap time and other days I rest. We hike on days that I have off in addition to the weekend.
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
At the beginning of the year, I took a professional development class called, Wearing All The Hats. It’s a professional development class created by artist/mothers for artist/mothers on the Artist/Mother Network. It has been, by far, the best professional development course I have ever taken. If there are other artist/mothers reading this, I highly suggest it and recommend looping into the community. I started listening to the podcast in my early postpartum days and it really changed the way I viewed artmaking and motherhood. Having multiple examples of other artist-mamas making it work gave me the confidence to make it work for me. (I promise I don’t get paid to advertise for them! I just believe in the community so much.)
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
I am looking forward to all the unknowns. This last year brought so many rewards that I could not have planned. I hope to follow through on some of the new and collaborative ideas that have been generated this year.
2022 brings my second show at Eye Lounge which means I need something in final form. I’m excited to see what that looks like.
My goal is to finish all the Pregnancy & Postpartum in the COVID-19 Pandemic handmade books I started last year and send them off to the collaborators before the end of 2022.
I’m also striving for balance and sustainability. I don’t think there is a one size fits all answer or even the same answer everyday for the same person. So, I’m always striving to have some sort of balance daily, monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
Find Megan Driving Hawk on Instagram
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