I am a third generation queer/trans artist, living and working in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was influenced from a young age by the work of my grandfather – Tampa metal sculptor and lifelong educator Jerry Meatyard, his brother – pioneering postmodern photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard, and my mother Laura Meatyard, who was (among many other things) a monument designer responsible for a great number of headstones and other stone memorials all over the state.

From the time I was drawing unicorns with crayons, my grandfather (who taught art at HCC Ybor for decades) critiqued my art and helped hone my skill at rendering form and composition. I attended the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School and studied fine art and anthropology at Eckerd College. Professionally, I have worked as a graphic designer and illustrator since 2007, and although I created work during my schooling, I was too intimidated by the long shadow cast by my artistic family to take chances and develop my own artistic vocabulary.

This thorough but dry description of my life thus far, however, does not paint a full picture. I have lived a lot of lives in my 46 years: homeless teen dropout at 15, married at 17, single parent with no support at 22, long years of working full time and going to school at night while raising three children hoping for a better future, lost adult with no idea who they really were at 34. It wasn’t until my late thirties that I discovered and accepted myself, finally giving me the ability to find my artistic voice. Since I started creating and showing art in 2019, it has been a whirlwind of production and activity. I have participated in literally countless group shows both locally and nationally, won several awards, was invited to be a participating artist in the 9th annual SHINE Mural Festival in 2023, and held my first solo exhibition in 2024. All told, I am living my best life, bringing my varied experience, empathy, and skill to producing the work I always knew I was meant to make.