Jan. 2, 2003 – Artist Sandy K. Meyer, who has been visiting St. Thomas for the last 20 winters, will be conducting her annual watercolor workshops at Tillett Gardens on Jan. 23, 24 and 25 and opening an exhibition of her own recent paintings in the Tillett Gallery on Jan. 23.
Meyer, a resident of North Platte, Nebraska, says the Virgin Islands is her "home away from home." She has both taught and exhibited her own work during the annual visits she and her family have made, staying on Water Island. The show openings have typically coincided with Classics in the Garden concerts in Tillett Gardens; this year's, however, will precede the January concert, by the Claremont Trio, which is set for Jan. 29.
Meyer took up painting while undergoing therapy for cancer some years ago. She says her watercolors vibrantly and enthusiastically reflect her lust for life and her passion for color. "I like to invite the viewer into the painting to feel the emotion and tranquility," she says. While her paintings are "direct and unpretentious," she says, "their visual excitement makes other mediums seem mundane and lifeless."
A past president of the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs, she received the Best of Show award in the group's 2002 competition. She has served in many capacities with the North Platte Art Guild and has chaired the Nebraskaland Days Competitive Art Show. She has taken part in many juried exhibitions and has received numerous state and national awards for her work as an artist and for her contributions to art. Her travels also have taken her to Anguilla's International Arts Festival, where she was invited to teach and be a presented.
Like painting, teaching has become a passion, Meyer says. She enjoys working with both adults and children and is most proud of the cancer survivors' watercolor classes she teaches at the Cancer Center in North Platte.
All three workshops on St. Thomas will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a break for lunch. Participants may attend any one or two of the sessions, or all three. Each day, those taking part will take complete a watercolor project. Registration is $40 per day, and participants are asked to bring their own painting supplies.
Space is limited and reservations are being accepted in the order they are received. To reserve a place, call the gallery at 775-1929. For more information about the workshops, contact Meyer by e-mail to Sandy Meyer.
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