TOP In Port Maria, Jamaica, Meredith
painted Jericho on the side of a
church building. The image represents
generations of people breaking free
from old strongholds. ABOVE Meredith
working in Jamaica. RIGHT When
possible, Meredith uses people in
the community as the models in her
paintings.
86 Toombs County Magazine
Church in Vidalia during the service.
“As he would tell the Bible stories, I
would draw them out.” As she got older,
Meredith drew from the images in the
stained-glass windows. When she had
perfected those, she moved on to drawing
the instruments on the stage.
Recognizing her daughter’s natural
talent, Melanie started her in art classes
at the age of six with Nora Hale. At
the end of the 5th grade, Meredith’s
family left Vidalia where her mother
had been the Superintendent of Vidalia
Heritage and her father the owner of
a local company working in secure ID
credentials, and they moved to Virginia
where she resumed private lessons with
another art teacher.
The summer before 8th grade, she
said, “I began an apprenticeship with
a muralist named Rita Ray, which
continued through high school. She
would take me and another girl my age
with her on different projects and teach
us the layout of a mural: how to plan
your paints and break down a large-scale
project to bite-size pieces.”
It wasn’t until her sophomore year
of college on a mission trip to Jamaica
during spring break that Meredith