Artist BIO:

Chalice Meikle (Florida, b.1990) received her BFA in Painting in winter 2015 from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. Ms. Meikle moved to Charlotte, NC, in 2015 and initiated Unorthodox Studios from 2017 to 2020. She cultivated local artist’s exhibitions and art classes. She moved her private studio to The VAPA Center in October of 2021, and in January 2023, she was unanimously appointed Chair of the Programming Committee. From 2022 to 2024, she worked with several non-profits, including The Arts and Empowerment Project, Arts Plus, and The Light Factory.

Ms. Meikle has exhibited her works in multiple juried exhibitions, including ‘100 Tiny Things’, CIAF Blumenthal Arts, Charlotte, NC; ‘Counting Up,’ Levine Museum, Charlotte, NC; and ‘Unbound,’ Charlotte Art Leauge in Charlotte, NC. Her artwork has been influenced and shifted while in residence with Dacia Gallery, New York, NY, the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL, during a Low-Residence Masters Program and the Braitman Studio in Charlotte, NC. She currently works and lives in Charlotte, NC.

Artist STATEMENT:

I use art as a therapeutic outlet, and I aim to show others they can do the same. My concepts and series have varied from depicting abuse to blissful meditation. One of my most recent series, ‘Wake Up,’ was created after mediation. While lying outside, I noticed colors appearing before my eyes with playful, sporadic line work. I opened my eyes to realize I was creating line work to the birds singing. 

Although I am formally trained in painting, as a creative, I prefer to dabble in all mediums. My paintings are focused on abstract self-expression, whereas my sculpture work is more literal. At the McColl Center Coop I will be making ceramic ‘Chalice’s’ (the holy cup), to create branding and take back my name. 

The opportunity of creating Chalices rather than painting a goblet is more original and archival. These Chalices will be made with the proper materials for eating and drinking but will be made slightly so that drinking would be problematic or not an option. It’s strange when a genuine and significant choice is taken from anyone, right?   

In the end, I live to create. I have printed poetry about sexual assault, curated multiple solo exhibitions for fellow artists, taught art classes to people ages 3 to 83, and developed programs for artists to teach how they therapeutically use art. 

“I am not what I do, I am what I do with my hands” – Louise Bourgeois