Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Gellner.
Megan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I didn’t start out with an interest in anything art related. In fact, my first thought of “yes! I can be an artist!” wasn’t until junior year of high school when I was introduced to Adobe Photoshop in a business marketing class. I learned it quickly and really felt an affinity for the program. The ability to manipulate and create really appealed to me and this would later have an effect on my photography later on.
After that class, I took up an interest in graphic design. I came to the University of North Texas for the Communication Design program, which is one of the top programs in the nation. I even got a job as a graphic designer for UNT Libraries, which has been a boon for my experience and creative development. Sadly, I didn’t get very far through the program. I was heartbroken, I didn’t know what to do with myself. It had been a terrible semester –– when I got my student ID picture renewed (because I lost my student IDs all of the time), my picture looked so sad. There was nothing in my eyes, just a void. I didn’t know what to do anymore. I briefly considered painting and drawing but didn’t really have an interest in being a studio artist at the time, and I’m really impatient when it comes to painting.
A few people recommended I major in photography. I dabbled with it before; I took a photojournalism class in junior high, I photographed my friends’ engagements, but I never considered myself good enough at it. But I changed my major to it anyway, and it was one of the best choices in my life! I’ve made great friends and have had so many amazing opportunities because of the Photography program at UNT.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think the biggest challenge has been my own brain, to be honest. I struggled in school. I didn’t know why I was this self-destructive when it came to my own academic success. When I saw a counselor about some unrelated issue (every college student’s friend, depression!), that was the first time I heard “ADHD” spoken in regards to me and my behavior. A lot made sense after that––but when I got a proper diagnosis, it came out negative. “Boarderline” the official assessment called me. At first, I was okay with it. “Okay, this turned out not to be true, now how are you going to fix your life?” But the more I thought about it, the more I wasn’t okay with that diagnosis. The experiences I hear from other adult women with ADHD echo what I’m going through right now when it comes to disorganization, lack of motivation, procrastination, forgetfulness, my feelings of failure. I want to get another opinion but haven’t done so yet.
I guess with all of this, my advice to young women is, if you have the means, go to therapy. It was nothing but positive for me. As women, I think we have a tendency to take on the world’s problems. That’s what we’re practically raised to do, and it’s very detrimental to a woman’s emotional and mental development. Therapy is fantastic, I recommend even if you think you’re well adjusted. Having a person that’s not really a part of your life to talk to about all of your problems and help you find solutions is a godsend.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about your business – what should we know?
I primarily work with illustration, graphic design, and photography. I really got a reputation for illustration/design for my work with UNT Libraries. That’s where a bulk of my work in that field comes from. As far as reputation goes, I’m still fresh out of the gate, but I’m also steadily growing a reputation for my photography through my work with Patron Magazine and wedding photography. For both of these genres, I focus on what I believe is the most important thing and what I take the most pride in as a photographer; the ability to really capture the emotion of a moment. Since I began really developing my photography, I’ve always had an interest in facial expressions and capturing true emotion. It ties into a love of psychology that I’ve had since I was a child. I want to make people who view my work feel, and the best way to do that is through the expression of a human image.
Recently, I’ve taken to Photoshop again to see what I can do to manipulate my images. My recent body of work, Run to the Hills, which focuses on the frustration of feeling stuck in life and being stuck in preconceived notions of who are you as a person, is where I really started experimenting with layering and drawing on the photographs.
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
There is a lot keeping women back in our society that I can bring up, all at a systemic level weaved from centuries of misogyny and toxic masculinity. The stories are there if you care to read them. Women much more intelligent and knowledgeable can say more than I ever could. That being said, without unraveling the twisted strings of how we got here, a major thing keeping women back is Imposter Syndrome, supported and encouraged by a culture of talking down to women in areas we literally got our degree in and know a great lot about. People, even other women, for some reason don’t consider your education or experience and feel like they’re being helpful by “giving you advice”. Whenever I meet people like that, I want to roll my eyes and say “Thanks, but I have a degree! I know this!” This need to “correct” women feeds into this thing called Imposter Syndrome, which is when an individual doubts their own accomplishments and has the fear that they’ll be exposed as a fraud. It can affect everyone, but most women suffer from this overwhelming anxiety that you’re a fraud, you’re unoriginal, you’re terrible at what you do, etc. I’ve certainly had my own periods where I felt all of those things, but we have to work through them.
Contact Info:
- Website: megangellner.com
- Email: gellnerme@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megellne/
Image Credit:
Katherine Curry
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