“Interpret how you wish.” That’s the message from local artist Megan Buccere when she talks about her work.
Buccere uses art to cope with her struggles with anxiety. She creates dark, beautiful and sometimes surreal paintings, with subjects such as a woman entangled in string and a girl with bleeding black eyes. It’s given Buccere a different way to express herself.
“It really does help to center me, and it takes a lot of the little chaotic aspects of my life and helps them fall into place,” she says. “It’s become an easier way for me to speak.”
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But as personal as those images are for herself, she wants viewers to see something personal about themselves in her work, too.
“I want people to look at my artwork and get an overall aesthetic, but also take away from it what they want to take away from it by finding something in it that appeals to them,” she says. “It makes it more personal to them, making it so much better.”
Buccere moved from Tennessee to the Baton Rouge area when she was 14, and since then, the Southern charm of Louisiana has inspired her life and work tremendously.
“Louisiana almost seemed kind of magical in a way,” she says.
It’s led some of her work to revolve around the dark and enchanting atmosphere of the Louisiana swamps—from the nighttime creatures like bats and owls to the arresting colors of the spoonbill. The move to Baton Rouge also introduced her to an art teacher who ultimately encouraged her to become one herself.
Buccere has worked as an art teacher for more than 20 years, currently at Zachary High School as the head of the visual and performing arts department. Her goal is to provide many outlets for her students to express themselves and teach them how to transform their creativity into art.
“A lot of times, they just focus on creativity, but you have to focus on all of it,” Buccere says. “That’s what I really hoped to do with my kids … to inspire them to keep learning, keep practicing, and that you can do it.”
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About the artist
Megan Buccere works primarily in soft pastels and oils. She received an art degree from LSU and is the head of the visual and performing arts department at Zachary High School. Her work is available through Ann Connelly Fine Art and her personal website, meganbuccere.com.
This article was originally published in the June 2021 issue of 225 magazine.