megs creatives

from 2009 – current

I have been a creative observer for as long as I can remember. sitting back quietly to watch the world around me, finding beauty within even the most dark or mundane, mind blown by even the smallest speck.

watching it change, watching it grow, watching it turn into something I don’t know… but learn from.

even as a child, I would sit for hours in the grass or climb up in the trees, just to sit there and do nothing but be. absorbing the millions of little miracles that surrounded me as if they were piles of gold to a king.

It was (and still is) my bliss and a chance for me to feel connected to my calm and natural state, allowing creativity to flow freely.

that is when the art truly shines.

as life, technology (and myself) progressed, the moment a camera was placed in my hands at the age of 13 was the moment my creativity really started to flourish. It became my way of expression; a creative outlet to reveal the parts of me I was hiding.

self portraits, (and I mean… A LOT of self portraits lol) as well as captures of family/friends, quickly made me feel more alive with each possible photo op; leading me to receive session requests at age 18.

I was H O O K E D after working with a high school senior, a small family and a clothing brand session where I was the photographer AND model – you can see that session here, along with other self portraits I took as a teen: https://megscreatives.pixieset.com/megmjphotography/ )

I had that pull and connection to photography for so long but it wasn’t until I started to collaborate with others that I really wanted to take it to a business level.

from that moment, I started working towards my first official photography business that was announced a year later in 2010 (the year our first daughter was born!) that went on to be MJphotography for many years, capturing over 100 different clients and editing over 50,000 images.

the name MJphotography represents the initials of the two middle names I have. I was adopted and choose to go by both the middle name my birth parents gave me (joyce) and the middle name my adopted parents gave me (mary) leading me to use them both as
mary – joyce.

megs creatives

fast forward to 2017 where we were settled into our current home (with not just one but two daughters!) I had started working for a corporation for the first time in six years and the overwhelm of trying to keep my passion business going became too much to keep up on my own.

one of my best friends (of nearly 20 years!) Abigail Spencer (who also had a photography business at the time) had the idea of putting our talents together and joining forces, forming Salt and Light Photography.

we quickly took on sessions together after announcing our partnership and within the same year created our first movement project, Don’t Label Me.

the meaning behind this project went on to hit thousands and was picked up by people.com; what an amazing honor! you can find that here: https://people.com/health/dont-label-me-photo-series/

as time went on, we continued to take on sessions in addition to our other jobs, our families, responsibilities, etc. and thrived from 2017-2020.

much changed for many in 2020, including us. business became slow and I was in a place of inner healing and finding out who I was as a human (not just a wife/mother, ya know?). as a lot of others became isolated during that time, I felt more aligned with who I am than ever before.

It felt like the right move to stop offering professional photography for awhile. I was doing my best to get away from technology as a whole and only wanted to document our family life. barely even that for awhile, honestly.

with focusing on my wellbeing and family, I decided to hand the business over to Abigail, who beautifully rebranded Salt & Light to Thistle + Poppy.

you can find that page with the work of hers, mine and ours; going all the way back to the beginning here: https://www.facebook.com/thistleandpoppyphotographyservices

though still doing sessions from time to time, Abigail mainly focuses on the financial company she employs at; working hard, learning a wealth of knowledge and dedicating herself to be one of the top people in the company.

after diving into my healing journey in 2020, I was invited to work alongside a group of nine other creatives in 2021 doing the exact same thing (one of them being Abigail!).

all ready to face our dark pasts and transmute our pain into power and creativity, we co-created an anthology called Freeing Our Frozen Songs (coming out soon!). you can find the information for that here: http://kck.st/45IFCbw

that process not only changed my life but also empowered and inspired me to develop Meg’s Creative Healing as I came out of the shadows.

throughout the years

nervous to get back into the business world, I gave it months of thought before taking the steps to move forward with professional photography again.

I wanted it to be different this time, I wanted it to be a creative business that not only tells parts of my story in a creative way (parts that I might not share in the anthology) but also encourages other’s to face and possibly share their unique stories as well.

I haven’t written in awhile between the busyness of life and the writers block I have had pretty much since finishing my chapter of the anthology but you can find my previous writings here and I will start writing again, eventually: https://megscreatives.org/blog/

my main goal for the creative healing was to work together on a poetic photo journey of ones struggles or traumas, while focusing on the strength, knowledge, healing and beauty that can come from anyone’s past; especially when you have the opportunity to face it, feel it and let it go.

I started working on fine tuning Meg’s Creative Healing at the beginning of 2022 and spent a year with it at the forefront. However, it turns out there is a much higher demand for family sessions and creative collaborations than there is creative healing sessions to face and conquer the demons of your past. trust me, I get it. it’s hard work.

also, as much as I wanted to mainly produce creative healing sessions, I did not want it to take away from all that I could offer when I can find balance and do it all. so I reconsidered the name, yet again. something as important as the name of a company or organization should cover it all – and that is when the change to “Megs Creatives” was announced.

in the midst of finding the balance and co-creating the anthology, I was then invited to be part of ReWilding Women which then branched out to ReWilding Kids; found, owned and directed by another one of my closest friends, Skye Selene.

ReWilding Women holds space for women who want the opportunity to learn, grow, experience and thrive together through events and retreats that bring us back to our true selves, the ways of the natural world and a better, holistic wellbeing.

with it’s little sister, non for profit community right by it’s side, ReWilding Kids; inspiring children of all ages to reconnect with the natural world by guiding them through immersive, nature-based experiences and artistic expression.

both of these organizations are so special to me and the current journey I am walking. A true honor to be a part of, documenting the wonderful things they have to offer, learning alongside the women and youth of our community. It is a dream come true in many varieties.

I am so proud of how my creative career has developed within the past decade or so. I may not have as much clientele or followers from starting over but I feel more aligned with the work I do now, more than ever before.

don’t be afraid to start all over. don’t think you have to stay exactly where you are forever. your life is entirely up to you – why not live it in a way that makes your soul shine?

the who

meg: she/her

let’s create something: t o g e t h e r.