Artist Bio

Meg Novotny Bechtel is a painter and studio artist, who lives in Delafield, Wisconsin. She received a BA from Mount Mary University in 2023 with a major in Studio Art and minor in Art Therapy. Meg’s work is thematically rooted in her observations of the natural world and often explores life & death, growth & change, and loss & longing. Currently, Meg works as a florist in Milwaukee, where she is flooded with inspiration for her paintings. She enjoys exploring how the various structures, colors, patterns, and textures of these botanicals interact with one another and translate into a two-dimensional space. Meg has been working as an active artist since she was 15, primarily spending her time as a painting and ceramics instructor in Milwaukee. Although she works in the floral community currently, her art has also been informed by her time as a studio manager, Milwaukee Art Museum intern, and summer camp art teacher. Through these positions, Meg has cultivated a passion for the creative process and its ability to heal, transcend borders, and create safe spaces for self-expression and communication.

Artist Statement

Throughout my life, I’ve been comforted by the cyclical properties of nature and its elements of fragility, growth, death, and rebirth. As a child, my grandmother would take me for long walks around her neighborhood, directing my attention to the subtle changes of the seasons as trees began to shed their leaves, or spring shoots started to emerge from the dormant ground. I adored studying all the plants in her garden, and enthusiastically illustrated my own versions of them when our work for the day was done. My grandmother always found abundant joy in the simplest things and exuded a life of gratitude despite its challenges. Because of this, she instilled in me an appreciation for all the metaphorical seasons of life. These memories and lessons became the foundation for my art, and they continue to reside in the floral and anatomical themes of my work. Today, I take pride in sharing these same precious moments with my own daughter, who adores smelling the roses in the garden, just as I once did.