NICHE: A WEEKLY PEEK AT AN EMERGING ARTIST
Holly Meyers

By LIZ HEITZMAN of the Tribune's staff
Published Sunday, October 5, 2003

Holly Meyers never lost faith that deep down she was an artist.

Brian W. Kratzer photo
Never mind that she didn’t make it to art school or that she had become a mother and stopped sketching.

"I always had a dream of going to an art institute, but I just couldn’t afford it," Meyers, 31, said.

Instead, Meyers got married two years after graduating from high school in Manitowoc, Wis. And when her daughter, Raven, came along seven years ago, Meyers didn’t have time to devote to her art.

"I set it aside for a while," she said. "But there was an aching in me, and every day I ached a little more. Creatively, I was aching to do art."

Meyers moved to Fulton several years ago with her husband and relocated to Columbia two years ago after getting a divorce.

As her daughter began to grow up, Meyers began stealing moments to sketch an expression she saw on her daughter’s face or how she looked in dress-up clothes. Though she had snapped lots of pictures, they never captured the scenes the way she saw them in her mind’s eye.

"I wanted to remember them," she said, "and make them mine. Painting them made them mine."

With only a couple of high school art classes under her belt, though, Meyers realized her technique needed some guidance.

"I knew I had it in me, and I needed to learn how to get it out," she said. "I needed a better foundation."

So four years ago, Meyers enrolled in a basic drawing class at William Woods University. She would go on to take two classes in oil painting.

Meyers’ investment is already starting to pay off. Last weekend, a piece titled "Ballet" was awarded first place in the Boone County Art Show in the nonprofessional-drawing category.

She found out she won through a message on her answering machine.

"It’s all kind of overwhelming," Meyers said. "I feel like it’s kind of a sign that I’m on the right path."

While Meyers doesn’t paint for a living, she does work in an artistic field — hair styling. Meyers said she loves her job but would like to paint full time someday.

As the only daughter in a family with four children, Meyers began drawing as a girl as way to escape. She would take magazines and sketch outfits and fashion models.

"I think that was my first love — the drawing of people," she said. "I loved trying to capture that look in their eyes."

While her parents were supportive of her interest in art, it took her years to appreciate her own talent.

"It has taken me a really long time to realize I could do it and be good," she said. "I learned you really have to love it. It’s something you have to be passionate about or you won’t be any good."

Meyers works primarily with India ink, a thick substance in which blotting and diluting techniques can create an array of looks and textures. Her winning piece, in fact, used just one India ink color — a reddish pink. She learned how to use the ink in her first drawing class at William Woods and has used it since.

"I like how you could dilute it and use it to get so many colors from one color," she said.

With the award under her belt, Meyers is encouraged to finish some other projects. She’s also joined the Columbia Art League.

"Now I know how passionately I feel about it," she said.

Meyer also has another subject to paint. Her son, Koren, was born 15 months ago.

"I want my kids to know what an inspiration they’ve been to me," she said. "I want them to look back on my work and say, ‘My mom did that.’ "

Reach Liz Heitzman at (573) 815-1715 or lheitzman@tribmail.com.

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Columbia Daily Tribune

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