By Megan Hutchins
"I had a desire, a creative desire, that needed attention. I did not know how to accomplish fulfilling this desire but that did not stop me. I went with my intuition and while it took me 8 months, I succeeded.”
In the early summer of 2013, I was sitting on my living room couch staring at a big blank wall across from me. It was as if I was in a trance, looking at the wall trying to pull from it an idea of what could become of it. I was bored.
I make this statement carefully knowing the disbelief I receive from it. I had no reason to say such a thing as my 1-year-old, 3-year-old and 5-year-old ran around the huge ottoman at my feet. My oldest daughter wasn't there as she was still in school at the time. Also, my fifth child was months away from emerging into the world. Yet, amongst all the chaos, I was bored.
Years prior to this day, I graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and had big dreams to one day run an advertising agency. I had also planned on having seven children with no clue how these two dreams would blend together.
I had our first daughter and became a part-time server in a restaurant to make ends meet. Our second child came and I continued in that line of work. It wasn't until the third baby arrived that I realized the cost of daycare was greater than what I was making and I became a stay at home mom.
It was during this time my husband and I bought our first home and we had our fourth child. I painted rooms for the first time and for a while, that was enough to keep the creative juices pumping. I was happy. I was busy. I was content.
But on that fateful day, as I sat looking at the newly painted wall, I realized how truly bored I had become. I had not "created" anything aside from my beautiful children in years. I had kept myself busy with everyday things but had let one of the most important things that was true to myself, my creativity, go.
When my husband got home that evening, I took a solitary trip to Lowe's. I had decided that I was going to create something with metal. I had retrieved my grandfather's old soldering iron out of the garage and was on a mission for the solder. I bought it, I brought it to my garage, plugged in the iron and went to work. It wasn't long after that I discovered my artistic talent did not stretch into the soldering world. I, however, still had my sights set on metal.
I went back to Lowe's the next day in search of something metal that I could work with. It was on this trip I discovered galvanized roofing nails. They were metal, shiny and had large, flat heads. I figured I could hammer them into wood in a design and the flat heads would create the look I was going for. I bought a 50-pound box, several pieces of wood and some wood stain and headed home filled with pure excitement! The creative energy was pouring out of me!
I remember bringing all these things in the house and sharing my adventure with my husband. I had decided on creating a 6 ft. world map for the otherwise blank wall. We worked out all the measurements and design together. I stood on a ladder with my pregnant belly serving as a reminder to be careful and traced the image onto the boards that I literally screwed into the wall. I did not know what I was doing. I did not know how to create this piece. I also did not let that stop me.
Over the course of 8 months, I worked single-handedly on that map right there in the living room. I removed the wood, board by board, and hand drilled holes, glued and hammered (using my grandfather's old ball peen hammer) the galvanized roofing nails in one by one. I placed the finished board back on the wall and removed the next. In this time, I also had my beautiful son.
Life was full.
When I finally completed the map, I had a statement piece. No one had seen anything like it. It was amazing.
I look back to that day of a soon-to-be mother of 5 and think "way to go girl." I had a desire, a creative desire, that needed attention. I did not know how to accomplish fulfilling this desire but that did not stop me. I went with my intuition and while it took me 8 months, I succeeded.
Now that piece is hanging on my husband's conference room wall and a different piece is hung in its place. Now I have blended my background of graphic design with this nail art concept and create large, custom corporate logos for businesses around the country. Now I have five amazing children who have witnessed their mother follow her heart and listen to her intuition. Now I no longer have the thoughts of being bored. I am full and in searching for my passion, I know that I truly nailed it.
Megan Hutchins
owner of Megan Hutchins Art
@meganhutchinsart on Instagram
Megan Hutchins Art on Facebook