Meg Kaczyk: Still, Life.
Aurora Loop Gallery, April 30-May 31.
My new body of oil paintings viscerally point to the truth that somehow, rain or shine, loss or gain, life asserts itself, unfolding into the next flowering. In a continuation of grief’s evolution, these vibrant and colorful works celebrate stability, fruition, identity, domesticity. Meet & Greet with artist Saturday May 2, 5-8 pm. Aurora Loop Gallery, Port Townsend. Gallery hours Thursday-Sunday noon-5, or by appointment.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
NORTHWIND ART SCHOOL in Port Townsend, Washington
Art Journaling for Self-Care, March 24
Designed for those who are interested in journaling as a tool for reflection and response to life, this workshop will spark the possibilities of words and images that are uniquely yours.
ONLINE Art Journaling Through Change: In Community, April 9
This low-key online session is designed to support your art journaling practice through sharing, learning and discovery with others in community.
Pacific Northwest Abstract, May 9 & 10
In this workshop, you will interpret your observations of the Fort Worden State Park environment to create abstract art that is wholly your own.
SITKA CENTER FOR ART & ECOLOGY on the Oregon Coast
SOLD OUT COMING SUMMER 2026: Pacific Northwest Abstract, June 24 & 25
Expand your artist’s eye by learning fresh ways of seeing the coastal Pacific Northwest, loosen your grip on realism, and move into an exploration of essence. Last year’s session sold out quickly, registration opens mid-December!
PAST EVENTS
On July 8, 6 PM – 7:30 PM, don’t miss this special evening conversation at the Museum of Art + History. Meg Kaczyk, Port Townsend artist and author, will discuss her powerful exhibition “Notes from Next to the Bed: A Caregiving Love Story in Words & Pictures”.
Meg will be joined by Martha Worthley for a conversation on caregiving, creative resilience, and processing grief through writing and painting. 🌿
Seats are limited – register now!
📍 Museum of Art + History, 540 Water Street, Port Townsend
🎟 Register Here >> https://www.simpletix.com/e/artist-talk-meg-kaczyk-tickets-219383
On Exhibit at Wilson Gallery, Jefferson Museum of Art + History
It is with great pleasure I announce a solo exhibit of the paintings from my book, alongside the narrative, at (newly renovated) Jefferson Museum of Art + History, in their lower level Wilson Gallery, 540 Water Street, Port Townsend.
It has been my vision from the beginning to create an immersive, intimate experience of this memoir. The exhibit’s cadence of the paintings’ arrangement invites you in, and it is my hope that visitors will deeply experience the words and the tactile quality of the paintings. The show will be up until August 24 – it is so lovely that people can return for quiet moments with this work. The Museum is also offering my book for sale in their shop.
Opening reception is on First Saturday Art Walk, April 5, from 5-8pm, 540 Water Street, Port Townsend. Find out more at the Museum’s website, Facebook and Instagram pages.
My new book, published September 2024, is now available for purchase at Imprint Bookshop, and Winter Texts Bookshop in Port Townsend, and for checking out at both Port Townsend and Jefferson County Public Libraries. Below is a brief overview of the story and the process.
Welcome to the World, my Book!
Thank you to everyone who showed up at Sunrise Coffee’s Art & Lecture series last night, for the launch of “Notes from Next to the Bed: A caregiving love story in words & pictures”. It was a packed room (overflowing into the outside area!) – full of community, love and listening. This kind of sharing is exactly how I wanted the book to enter the world. Folks have asked how they can buy a copy. For now, I am doing it very old school, please send me an email requesting the purchase. I will accept cash, check or Venmo (will provide Venmo info to you directly, if that’s the way you want to go). I have a limited number of books left, and will be printing another run after this batch sells out. Books are $35 each. If I am mailing it, shipping is $6 per book, sent media mail.
July 6, 2024: “Favorite Things” at The Grover Gallery, Port Townsend WA
As a guest artist at The Grover Gallery, I am premiering a new collection of oil and charcoal paintings called “Favorite Things”. The exhibit opened July 4 and runs through September 2. Most of the pieces are painted from my daily practice sketchbooks, which often reflect my most comforting daily objects and scenes. Two of the paintings in the collection are from my forthcoming picture book memoir, Notes from Next to the Bed. Also featured in this group show is Max Grover, Remedios Rapoport and Kay Gaul. The Grover Gallery is located at 236 Taylor Street, in downtown Port Townsend. Hours are Thursday-Monday, noon-5.
January 2023: Just announced! Abstract workshop at Playa At Summer Lake, Oregon
I will be teaching a new workshop, “Inspired Abstract Desert Landscapes” at Playa at Summer Lake in Oregon, September 5-12, 2024. I enjoyed a self-directed residency at Playa in October 2021, and the experience was transformative. The landscape, the studio space, and the camaraderie of fellow artists is my idea of heaven. This workshop is based on my popular Make It Abstract workshop, but your source material will come from the desert environment around us. I will teach you different ways to see abstraction, provide lots of examples, and guide you through an iterative process in making your original art, based on your photos and/or sketches of the Playa and the Ridge.
I am always happy to see my art hanging at Jefferson Healthcare in Port Townsend. For this rotation, “Madrona Hill Grove” was in the lobby, and “Neighborhood Bouquet” was in Oncology. In all, 10 large paintings of mine were located throughout the hospital facility. As you know if you read this month’s blog post, experiencing art in medical environments is especially meaningful for me.. I believe original art is a restorative force.
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May 16, 2022.
Update! Listen to KPTZ Larry Stein interview with Meg and Linda. 10 minute listen.
On Exhibit: Some Mornings, paintings by Meg Kaczyk from poems by Linda M. Robertson.
March 17 – May 30, 2022. Northwind Art Grover Gallery, 236 Taylor, Port Townsend. Gallery hours: Thursday-Monday, 12-5.
Kaczyk seeks to move the legacy of abstract expressionism forward by focussing conscious attention to heartfelt experiences of loss, guided by Robertson’s evocation of these tender places.
“The paintings are not intended as illustration—this is an important point,” says Kaczyk. “The painting is a furthering of the poem, a sense of impression beyond the obvious narrative, a wordless felt experience.”
PtSA Faculty Show at Phyllis Lamphere Gallery, Washington State Convention Center. April 17-July 7, 2019. Showing selections from Water Ways, Madrona and Big Fruit series.