We recently connected with Meghan Chambers and have shared our conversation below.

Meghan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I have participated in some level of creativity throughout my life – growing up remotely in Alaska, practicing art served both as an important connection to exploring the natural world around me, and for needed escapism during the long and dark winter months. I cannot say I grew up knowing I’d be a professional artist, but I did know I’d be creative for years to come.

I have an undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Art, and a graduate certificate in Arts & Culture Strategy. I have worked both in the research sciences and the arts non-profit field before I eventually carved out my current niche in letterpress printing. I don’t regret my time in either field – they gave me important skills in project management, design and marketing, business ownership, and more. They also gave me perspective, and I feel extremely fortunate to be pursuing my passion commercially

Practicing my art full-time gave me a wonderful outlet during the early and difficult COVID years. While I am often too pragmatic to believe in fate, I do find the coincidence of transitioning to an art career coincided wonderfully with healing habits of a therapy of daily art practice.

Meghan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Meghan, owner and operator of Salt Water Press. Like many Alaskans, I’ve done a little bit of everything in my career, but I keep coming back to science and art. The daughter of two biologists, my early years were spent at remote fish hatcheries – playing on beaches, living amongst the bears and seals and eagles and ravens. When I went through school, I could never choose a “one-size-fits all” pathway, and ended up majoring in biology and minoring in art. Fast forward 10 years, and after jobs in both scientific research and arts administration, I discovered letterpress printing. I fell head-over-heels for it, the perfect way to combine my passion for visual art with an obsessive need to project manage and methodically work through tasks.

Salt Water Press is a letterpress print and design studio, operating from my home studio. I specialize in custom stationery, place-based greeting cards, and linoleum block carving. I print both for individual clients (such as wedding stationery), other local businesses, and for myself. I operate 3 vintage printing presses, made anywhere from 1917 to 1940. Letterpress printing is a type of relief printing, using carved forms such as wood or linoleum blocks, wood or metal type, or photopolymer plates to imprint a design onto paper. It’s a slow craft, with each color added one pass at a time. The machines are often fickle, each one with quirks and personality, but it’s part of why I love it.

Much of my illustrative inspiration comes from a deep appreciation of the rocky shores and lush forests I get to call home. I’ve long been obsessed with drawing species and their surroundings, trying to capture life on the coast. That being said – I’ve never been a realist while drawing and painting, and my style is often bold, quirky, and loose. I care deeply about my work connecting with my audience, and when I’m working with a custom stationery client I work hard to capture their story and translate it into print. When carving linoleum, my prints trend towards folk art with a modern twist: mixing in neon colors and organic patterns.

Salt Water Press celebrates juxtapositions – old and new, mechanical and hand-crafted, science and art. I believe the process is just as fun as the product. I believe in inspiring surroundings, inspiring clients, connecting with my community, and being present.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A common myth in the creative industry, if not society at large, is that constant productivity and quantity equals success, and therefore defines you as an artist. I’ve come to strongly disagree with this viewpoint, as I journey along phases of my creative career and life.

Salt Water Press is the product of nearly 7 years of part-time work as a creative, often coinciding with full-time work in other fields. I am finally proud to call myself a full-time creative, but it took years to get to this point. And that’s ok. It’s ok to go slow. It’s ok to not go viral immediately. It’s ok to slowly build your brand, develop and hone your interests. It’s ok if those interests evolve along the way. It’s ok to take breaks. I am a new mother, and this transition has certainly been the most drastic in terms of creativity and productivity. As one of my favorite writers Amy McNee says: “You are still a creative even when you’ve spent a long time away from your art.”

My other encouragement in this realm is to provide lots of space for “diffuse thinking” – providing space for your mind to wander and daydream. We often do this in the car, in the shower, on a run, on the airplane. You may notice yourself feeling more connected to your emotions during this time, and feeling especially innovative or spontaneously creative. Consciously making time for diffuse thinking will help you focus and hone your creative work when you’re ready to sit down and crank things out. Lisa Congdon has a great episode on her podcast The Lisa Congdon Sessions – “Being Creative in Stressful Times.”

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I began my commercial creative career as a part-time freelance graphic designer, in addition to my day job. At the time, I was grossly underpricing my work – realizing later I was charging only about 50% what other designers were charging. I wish that I had had the courage to reach out to other designers in the area and ask about their pricing. I don’t mean I wanted them to give me all of their secret pricing sheets and profit margin calculations, but had I known the average hourly rate, I would not have inadvertently undercut them. I would have learned a range, and been able to charge on the lower side of that range as a new designer.

I know now professional artists are typically happy to share money tips – it’s a tough world out there as a small business owner, and many of us are happy to impart knowledge.

Social media has grown immensely since I started, and now there are typically mentors in each field sharing business tips online, or subscription services offering resources in each creative field. Learning some of the benchmark accounting and bookkeeping skills earlier on would have helped me begin my business with more confidence in my fiscal management.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.saltwater.press
• Instagram: @salt.water.press

Image Credits
Sydney Akagi, Meghan Chambers