Artist: Megan Rieker
Title: Creation
Medium: Oil and cold wax on canvas
Unframed Dimensions: 40 x 30 inches
Framed Dimensions: 55 x 39 inches
Price: $3200
Artist Statement: Creation is a surrealist portrayal of a loving gardener sowing seeds of all types into rich, prepared soil. The seeds and plants are all of us in our many sizes, shapes, and colors, each with our own purpose and beauty. Every time I work in my garden, I learn life lessons as I try to work with the environment to bring out the best in natue, to help a living thing reach its potential by providing water, pruning and nutrients, and by removing the debilitating weeds and other dangers to growth.
I love the Italian saying, “Plant grapes for your children and olive trees for your grandchildren.” We may never see all the fruits of our labor—olive trees produce fruit for hundreds of years. But as we plant the seend and tend to their needs it transforms us. There is something innate in us that calls out to help others grow. Perhaps we inherited it from our Heavenly Mother.
Artist Bio: For the past 25 years, Megan Rieker has been painting women of the gospel. She started her journey at a high school of the arts outside of Washington DC, then went on to receive her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Maryland Institute College of Art. For 10 years she lived overseas while raising a family and continuing her art. She began her “Women of Inspiration” painting series in 2000 and continues it today. Megan’s work has been featured in the Ensign magazine, multiple museums, and various books and CD covers, as well as in Church videos, manuals, and meetinghouses. She has spoke at BYU Women’s Conference and throughout the US. Her goal in both art and speaking is to inspire, uplift, and bring women closer to their Heavenly Father.
