We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Meaghan Hetherton Lyon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Meaghan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve always been in love with creating art, from the time I was a very little kid. The first “illustration” my mom saved of mine was from when I was 2 years old, and I titled it “very scary spider.” If you ask me what my favorite toy was growing up, the answer would be a close tie between my art set or sidewalk chalk, depending on the season. So when did I know I wanted to be an artist professionally? Probably as soon as I knew what a profession was.
As I got older, I started getting more and more interested in biology, too. I’d go on extracurricular field trips to participate in dissections of cow eyes and lungs. I’d collect algae specimens from the creek behind our house. By the time I got to the end of high school I knew that I was going to have a hard time deciding between going into a more “lucrative” science field or following my passion for art.
Luckily I had an art teacher in my life who could give me the guidance I needed. When I told her I couldn’t decide between science and art, she told me I could combine the two into one career: Scientific Illustration. It opened my eyes to so much opportunity: not just scientific illustration, but medical illustration. I loved the idea of being adjacent to the medical field, being able to teach and help without having to interface with patients. So it was settled then and there and my journey to becoming a medical illustrator began.

Meaghan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a medical illustrator in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota. I received my undergraduate degree in Scientific Illustration and Visualization (formerly biological/pre-medical illustration) at Iowa State University, and my Master’s of Science in Medical Illustration from Augusta University in conjunction with the Medical College of Georgia.

My current status is as a contract medical illustrator specializing in 2D, didactic illustrations meant to help educate medical professionals and/or their patients. I’ve worked for international companies and universities, been published in magazines and research papers, illustrated for big medical device companies and small local entities, and created hundreds of illustrations for a well-known test prep company. My favorite kind of work is illustrating female biology, especially surrounding pregnancy and birth. I also love working on patient education illustrations. The common ground between the two being the opportunity to take complex information and use beautiful imagery to explain it clearly.

What I am most proud of at this point in my career is the relationships I’ve formed along the way. In my experience, the best way to win work is to create a good product and form a good relationship with your clients, and they will in turn recommend you to their peers. Customer service is an important skill as an independent contractor; your client depends on your clear communication and dedication to helping them achieve their goal.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I’m still working on unlearning is the idea that I have to be the very best, the top of my field. It’s not a sustainable frame of mind.
I feel like we’re constantly being hit with talking heads telling us there’s a “right” or “best” way to do something, pushing us to work harder and longer, to collect all the awards. It’s hard to tune the voices out and find what works best for YOU, as an artist AND as a person with a life outside of your job. It’s ok to find your right pace, your right timing.
I spent a lot of time feeling stressed and mediocre and it was impacting my ability to perform. My artwork was suffering because I wasn’t confident in my skills. I had external voices and expectations squashing a huge source of joy in my life, and it was creating an unavoidable problem. So I left, I moved on, and I grew.
You don’t have to be the very best and you don’t have to stay in situations that don’t serve you. You just have to create and be yourself.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love how being an artist shows up in other areas of my life that aren’t explicitly “art.”
I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, and life is BUSY right now. I take on contract jobs, sure, but I have overflowing creative energy and not enough time to drain it, so it ends up pouring out into other areas of my life: art projects with my kids, baking, home decor, gardening, even making stupid little instagram posts. There are so many ways I use my background in art to romanticize my life while I’m in this trying season of motherhood. I may fantasize about the day where I can take on more jobs and work on my growing list of personal project ideas, but until then I find ways to siphon off my artistic energy where I can.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hethertonillustration.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/hethertonillustration