Artist paints pretty presents

Alison Jurgens-Meyer is inspired by life. Expressing herself through art is relaxing and therapeutic.

A year ago, Jurgens-Meyer’s fiance Kirk Strobeck was killed in an accident when he was riding his motorcycle.

“A woman cut him off, and he was killed instantly,” she said. “The unspeakable grief of this year has been the most challenging thing I have faced. Art is what saved me.

“I have been an artist since I was old enough to hold a pencil or crayon,” Jurgens-Meyer added. “I am inspired by everything around me — good and bad. Trying to create work that speaks to others and connects with them on some level is what I enjoy.”

Her art projects include painting on wineglasses and Christmas ornaments. Subjects have included horses, poinsettias, mistletoe, snowmen, dahlias, lighthouses and sailboats.

Jurgens-Meyer, 46, recently painted matching wineglasses, featuring images of a couple’s cabin near a lake with lily pads and pink flowers.

“The glasses are like a moving canvas,” she said. “I enjoy creating the glasses, because they make people happy and they are a fun, affordable way for people to buy a gift for someone or themselves when they want something hand-painted and personal.

“I do more special orders than anything, and lately I have done more pets on glasses than ever before,” Jurgens-Meyer added.

She can paint vases, plates and coffee cups, as well as champagne flutes and beer glasses.

“I can paint on plastic too — for martinis by the pool,” Jurgens-Meyer said. “They have the same look that glass does.

“I’m mostly an illustrator,” she added. “I just happen to paint on everything.”

Jurgens-Meyer, a medical transcriptionist, said her ultimate goal in life would involve being an illustrator for children’s books.

“I think that would be a great field to be in,” she said. “Some of the best art is in children’s books — making somebody’s words come to life through art.”

Jurgens-Meyer is available to teach painting techniques and how to mix paint, to individuals including women for “girls night out” events.

“It’s part of what my calling is — to show others the joy they can have making things and creating things,” she said. “It really is fulfilling. They don’t have to be an artist to find joy in creating art or crafting. There is room for everybody to create artwork.”

Some of Jurgens-Meyer’s painted wineglasses and ornaments can be viewed and purchased at Aurora Gallery, 1004 Main St., in downtown Vancouver.

For more information about Jurgens-Meyer’s art, contact her at 834-9262 or alimeyer33@comcast.net.