IN THE WORLD

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A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG WOMAN

Soon after “getting out” of Tech, Megan Fechter, BA 17, left behind a burgeoning career in marketing to pursue her passion for painting.

Winter 2018 Vol. 94 No. 4 | BY MELISSA FRALICK

Megan Fechter thought she had a clear plan for the direction her life would take. She majored in business administration with a concentration in marketing to prepare for a career in corporate America. She worked hard at Georgia Tech, and shortly after graduating, she landed her dream job in marketing for Deloitte.

“The big plan for me was always to be a marketer,” Fechter says. “I love people. I love sharing things that I’m passionate about, which in essence is marketing. And Deloitte was exactly where I thought I was supposed to be. It was the job I had worked for, it was the job that I dreamed of.”

But it wasn’t long after she started her career that Fechter realized somewhere along the journey, the goal line had shifted. She didn’t feel as fulfilled in the business world as she hoped. She didn’t feel as fulfilled as she did when she was painting.

Fechter had started painting with watercolors as a creative outlet during her junior year at Tech. She was good at it, and people around her encouraged her to nurture this newfound hobby. The first artwork she sold was a painting of the Ramblin’ Wreck. Before long, she started selling prints and doing custom paintings for friends and classmates.

“Every painting came with a story,” she says. “And half of the stories I would receive would bring tears to my eyes because I was so overwhelmed and happy that I could help someone share this.

“A colleague of mine at Georgia Tech ask me to paint a picture of her red front door. She and her husband immigrated from Colombia and Mexico, and the door belonged to the house that they never thought that they could have. She wanted the painting as a symbol of the progress they’d made as immigrants in the United States. That’s an amazing story, and I was honored to be part of it through my art.”

Fechter continued to paint after she began her job at Deloitte. Each week at work, she found herself counting the days until the weekend, when she could go home and paint and capture stories and memories for people through her art. She soon realized that the work she was doing on the side may in fact be what she wanted to do full time.

“I felt like there really was a calling for me and it was pretty undeniable,” Fechter says.

Fechter’s parents were not immediately sold on the prospect of their Tech-educated daughter leaving her new position with a well-respected company to start a career as an artist.

Her parents encouraged her to stay with her job for a few years, and then reassess. But Fechter was convinced that she needed to make a change and soon. As months went by, Fechter’s clientele continued to grow, and her desire to paint full time had only intensified.

“And then, I had just walked home from work three miles in the pouring-down rain,” Fechter says, “contemplating leaving the life I built behind to pursue a radical career change as an artist. When I called my mom to tell her what was on my heart, her response was everything a young woman would hope to hear from her lifelong role model: ‘OK, girlfriend, show me your business plan.’”

With her family’s support, Fechter made the decision to leave her job after just six months to go in a completely new direction.

Though she was certain about her desire to pursue art full time, the decision did not come without obstacles. She wrestled with the financial implications of leaving her steady job for the constant hustle of life as a freelancer.

“The decision really came down to the human connection, my overall happiness and finally feeling a sense of distinct purpose in this world,” she says. “That made the choice quite clear.”

Though she left the corporate world behind, Fechter says her Institute education has been vital for getting her art business, Painted Parcels, off the ground.

“The biggest initial challenge [of freelancing] is that you’re completely alone,” Fechter says. “No one is there to guide you through the process. You’re creating your own schedule, drumming up your own business and making career decisions independently.

“In my few short months as a business owner, I’ve had to put every class I took in the Scheller College of Business to the test. From finance, to accounting, to marketing and business strategy, I couldn’t be more grateful for my time at the Institute for preparing me.”

Today, Fechter is working out of a studio space at the Goat Farm Arts Center, a community for artists located in West Midtown Atlanta. At this early stage in her career, she supports herself mainly through custom paintings for clients, the majority of whom she connects with through her Instagram page.

She says word of mouth and social media have been crucial for her business. For example, she’s recently painted several engagement photos for clients whose other betrothed friends have contacted her to paint their engagements as well.

Her art includes a variety of styles, from playful watercolors to abstract acrylic paintings and pen and ink drawings of Atlanta landmarks.

“The overall style of all these pieces, no matter what the focal point is, is simple,” Fechter says. “There’s always pops of color and I want to evoke a sense of peacefulness, always. I think it’s important for a piece of art to make someone feel at home, to feel familiar, to feel calm.”

She credits her experiences at Georgia Tech—particularly competing as a finalist in the 2015 InVenture Prize Competition—with building the confidence she needed to take the fork in the road and pursue life as an artist.

“Tech has the ability to push you really beyond what you think you’re capable of,” Fechter says.”