MEGAN RIFFE
Megan is a Sandpoint native whose love of art began early in life. Many members of her family are artists and their influence awakened her creative energy in childhood. Megan’s early explorations included music, painting, and theatrical design. She majored in set design and fine art at the College of Santa Fe. Back home in North Idaho, she found a place within the community of artisans to fully express her love of creating.
That community fostered her desire to open her own specialty finishing business, which she continues to expand. Her Sandpoint base of operations is the Gooby Building, an artists’ collective where she houses her faux finishing business supplies and office, and is a place for creating artwork of destinations unknown. Megan also teaches art at North Idaho College.
Megan’s work is inspired, professional and careful, whether applied to the wall finishes or fine art.
She looks forward to working with you.
View Megan’s Professional Resume
SPECIALITY FINISHES
Megan’s specialty finishes are intended for home or business owners who enjoy customized beauty in their surroundings. She works extensively with her clients to ensure that her finishes reflect their artistic preferences. Her understanding of scenic design comes to the fore, as each room done in faux finishes becomes the setting in which a daily scene is lived.
A wall finish can create a comfortable, energetic or crisp feeling to a room, which subtly informs its inhabitants’ mood. Of course, artistic ability is nothing without the organized bidding, communication, and planning that form the cornerstone of her business ethic. Megan’s sample boards and estimates ensure that the final project is completed beautifully, on time and on budget.
FINE ART
Fine art is Megan’s place to let loose. Her most recent body of artwork, affectionately known as “dots,” is an explosion of color and texture. Where her wall finish designs for clients require much planning, these works are, in their nascent stages, intuitively worked so that each finished piece is a surprise.
All dots begin as a round wooden-backed styrofoam core. The foam is then carved into a domed shape. Irregularities are welcomed as serendipitous gifts. Multiple layers of fiber-reinforced plaster comprise the muscle and bone of the piece. Once the form is strong and sinewy, the layers of skin are applied. Added then are several coats of color-tinted plaster, which harden, only to be sanded smooth again. More layers, more colors, and more sanding allow the piece to gradually take on a presence of its own. High spots from lower layers announce themselves after repeated sanding, leaving one to contemplate possible metaphors to one’s own life and bodily creation. Are we not, each of us, brought to our own fruition by life’s cycle of giving and taking away?
As a final gesture, Megan aims to recognize the moment of grace in each piece, the moment of completion. It is not perfect but complete. The surface is polished, and then polished once again. What results is a microcosm of a life, presented with maximum care and shine.
The Studio
Where the art takes shape.
