Meet Meagan Murphy | Deliberate Healing Productions LLC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meagan Murphy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meagan, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I always marveled at the beauty of the natural world. The beach looked like the clouds, looked like the brain, looked like a walnut. I would gaze, awestruck, fingers reaching…wondering how I might capture such exaltant wonders through my budding photography and ‘inner spiritual poetry.’ Then came the video camera and its cornucopia of possibilities. I was immediately hooked, and my nascent passion for the beauty of the ordinary now expanded to people.
It was a college journalism course that sparked my captivation with the on-camera interview, and my first official exchange on a busy Boston boulevard remains vivid. A class assignment had tasked us with obtaining a man-on-the-street interview, and after arranging to borrow an enormous video camera (with audio cables perilously dangling) I’d staggered toward the nearest “man on the street”—a coffee vendor—who kindly consented to be interviewed. Initially our exchange was face to face, but the weight of the camera soon forced me to speak to my subject exclusively through the viewfinder. There was a momentary awkwardness, but then, as the man adjusted his attention from my face to the lens, I began to see him from an utterly different perspective. In speaking directly to the camera, his presence seemed to expand, and I was able to focus deeply into his soul. As our impromptu conversation unfolded, I was amazed by his depth and individuality. It was as if the camera’s lens was a prompting looking glass that invited him to be his fullest self. After that day, I began regularly checking out the camera and lugging it around Boston. In Harvard Square, I asked people their opinions about current events. At home, I asked my roommates to describe the art on our walls. Somedays, I would attach a balloon to our balcony railing and simply record it blowing in the wind.

The video camera became a remarkably powerful mechanism for capturing the humor, whimsy and beauty of my tiny world. I was fascinated by the content I was able to elicit from people. Everyone was interesting, and everyone had a juicy gem or tidbit they had been dying to share their whole lives. I reveled in my role as a conduit, proudly holding these precious nuggets within me like a galaxy of diamonds. A social creature, I moved through crowds of people like water across a delta, and my penchant for taping interviews became my currency. My repertoire has since expanded to include video editing and portraiture, but the power of the lens remains awesome to me. Especially precious is the crystalline moment of silence after a subject has spoken, when they realize something from a deep reservoir of memory has been loosened and released. It’s a unique slice of beauty.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a humanitarian-driven storyteller, I fall into the artist and creative category. Raised in the bucolic ‘burbs of Northern New Jersey, I came into adulthood in Boston, where I cut my teeth at several television stations and production companies before joining a PBS station, where I worked for many years on a wide variety of educational, children’s, and reality programming. Everyday was
a parade of adventures and I always felt challenged. By then I was hooked on exotic travel too, and following a uniquely spiritual experience in Egypt, I was emboldened to resign from the TV station in order to create a high concept documentary about women’s body-based stories. I breezily assumed the project would come together in a year, but an arduous 6 years would pass before this beguilingly challenging documentary was completed. After pitching it at Hot Docs in Toronto, I was ecstatic when it was picked up by a prestigious independent distributor. Even the public library system of North America picked up the film via Kanopy.  It was at this juncture that I moved to Atlanta to pursue video production opportunities. During the lockdown, an unexpected springboard appeared in the form of a virtual art class, where professional nude models posed every week. I’d never seen myself as a particularly talented portraitist, but over time my teacher helped me to gain confidence and command over key techniques in capturing anatomy and form. Then, I started to see a unique light source all around the body. It was an element that guided and inspired me, and it became, much to my delight and surprise, my signature style. In 2022, as my contract with the film’s distributor was coming up for renewal, I decided to create a director’s cut version of “The Breast Archives” to target a wider audience. So, I rolled up my sleeves and dove back into the movie-making process, and in July of 2023 it was finally completed—again.
This version of “The Breast Archives,” which will be released this fall, contains several decisive improvements, including a streamlined film open and a sharpened narrative arc for the Sensuality and Breast Cancer chapters.

This fall I’ll also be showcasing my collection of Egyptian deities and portraits at the Well of Roswell, and will be offering an educational workshop on October 15th that dives into archetypal Egyptian goddesses and the methods we can use to connect with these ancient forces. See www.thewellofroswell.com/calendar for more information.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a person who enjoys doing busy work in public places. Curiously, a bustling environment assists my focus and productivity. For that reason, as soon as I moved to Smyrna, I was on the hunt for a proper coffee shop. I quickly found Rev Coffee, a funky converted garage serving house roasted coffee, sandwiches, and delicious granola infused power cookies. But best of all is the people watching, which is top notch! Lots of young people with their noses in books, laughing middle aged couples, people conducting business meetings, with the occasional family coming through for the homemade muffins. Another key asset of Rev Coffee is its comfy decor! Their living room style chairs, and long plank benches of soft wood that include eclectically aging wool pillows, allow for hours of sitting without the threat of an aching rump. If you’re driving along Spring Street in Smyrna, Rev Coffee is definitely a place to check out.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to give a rousing ShoutOut to the members of my Atlanta-based Salon, which gathers monthly to exchange news, ideas and healthy resources. We’ve expanded in size, and enjoy a deepening camaraderie that has spilled over into dinner outings and weekend getaways. These men and women are parents and farmers and doctors and teachers, and they continuously inspire me to persevere, remain rooted in my heart, and stay focused on my goals and dreams.

Website: www.deliberatehealingproductions.com www.thebreastarchives.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meagansbreastarchives/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meagan-murphy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meaganclaremurphy