About
Biography
Megan Foster is an interdisciplinary artist from southern Maine and a current Master of Fine Arts candidate at the University of Montana. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics with a Minor in Art History from the Maine College of Art in 2015. In her undergraduate work, she became interested in the Arts and Crafts Movement and responded to their crusade for beauty and dignity in wake of the Industrial Revolution. Between degrees, somewhat ironically, Foster found herself working at a factory, hand deburring jet engine parts as a member of the industrial labor force. She spent five years on the factory floor until she was able to return to her love of art, craftsmanship, and academia in the fall of 2021. As a Master’s student, Foster has been able to expand her practice to include additional mediums such as printmaking and drawing, as well as new ceramic techniques such as relief carving and cold finishes. Since her arrival in Montana, she has exhibited work in multiple locations throughout Missoula, become an intern for the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, and helped found the independent art venue, Lovechild Gallery. And, in 2022, she received the Craftsmanship Award for her work A Series of Cups in the juried “Holiday Exhibition” at the Off Center Gallery. Expanding upon her love of beauty and the decorative, her most recent body of work uses Victorian Flower Language, personal narratives, and ideas surrounding domesticity to respond to the process of emotional healing from interpersonal trauma.
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2023
MFA Candidate, School of Visual and Media Arts, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
2015
BFA in Ceramics, Honors Distinction, Minor in Art History, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
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2023
Founder’s Exhibition, Lovechild Gallery, Missoula, MT
2022
Holiday Exhibition, Off Center Gallery, University of Montana, Missoula, MT (Juried, Adrian Arleo)
Annual Student Juried Show, Gallery of Visual Arts, University of Montana, Missoula, MT (Juried)
2nd Annual 406 Cup Show, Wildfire Ceramic Studio, Missoula, MT (Juried, Ryan Caldwell)
Lovechild, Knowles Gallery, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
Expanse, Knowles Gallery, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
Trail Mix, Knowles Gallery, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
2021
Here and There, Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC), Missoula, Montana, MT
Tectonic Emergence, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT
Graduate Exhibition, Knowles Gallery, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
2015
Aggregate, BFA Thesis Show, Zand Head Gallery, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Mudhogs, Zand Head Gallery, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Merit Competition, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME (Honorable Mention)
2013
BFA Show, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2012
Alumni Exhibition, Wells High School, Wells, ME
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2022
Craftsmanship Award, Holiday Exhibition, Off Center Gallery, Missoula, MT
Kilns and Firing Efficiency, published online by NCECA Green Task Force
2015
The Tao of Topsy: William Morris and the Call to Beauty in the Nineteenth and Twenty-first Centuries, Art History Minor Thesis, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2014
Alternate, Windgate Fellowship, Portland, ME
Honorable Mention, Merit Competition, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
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2023 –
Instructor of Record, Visual Language: Drawing, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
2023 –
Secretary of the Board/Founding Member of Lovechild Gallery, Missoula, MT
2023
Instructor of Record, Ceramics for Non-Majors, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
2022 –
Accessions Intern, Montana Museum of Art and Culture, Missoula, MT
2022 – 2023
Grader (TA), Introduction to Art History, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
2021 – 2022
Grader (TA), Digital Imaging, University of Montana, Missoula, MT