Tupelo artist uses recycled items, whimsy in mixed-media creations
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Jul. 2—TUPELO — Jennifer Meadows rarely sits still.
The Columbus native who considers Tupelo her hometown holds down three full-time jobs: She's the assistant to the curriculum director for the Tupelo Public School District; a dog sitter; and a mixed-media artist.
"I've always been very creative, very color-focused," said Meadows, 40. "If I could get my hands into something, whether coloring in a coloring book or making a chain from construction paper strips, I was happy — just whatever I could create and make."
About 12 years ago, she started using recycled materials to create artwork. If she found a bolt in the street or some old linoleum or some good corrugated cardboard, she'd pick it up to see how she could use it.
Pretty soon, friends started asking her if she could make things on canvas that they'd seen on Pinterest.
"I wanted to make something that wasn't exactly what they'd seen on Pinterest or wherever," she said. "I wanted to give it the Jennifer effect. I like to do things with dimension. I like to add different textures, different heights. If I find a piece of cardboard with a good ripple, I'm going to find a way to use it."
Meadows said her mind is always turning, always working, to come up with new ideas, which is how she stumbled onto one of her best sellers — her rock birds.
"I was babysitting for a young lady and we were painting rocks," Meadows said. "Something about one of the rocks looked like a bird to me."
So she began painting eyes on the rocks and added beaks and legs and glued them to real branches or twigs on a painted, framed canvas.
"No two are ever alike," she said. "I don't like to make the same thing over and over again. The rock birds are in the same series, but every one is different. The last few years, I started putting wings on them and changing the background."
About six years ago, Meadows started creating canvases with sayings on them.
"There are so many good words, so many good quotes," she said. "At first everything was real sweet and positive — 'All you need is love,' or 'Love makes the world go around.' The last two or three years, I've taken a more real approach to life with words, while still staying positive."
Some of her favorites are "I plan my whole day around the possibility of a nap," "I'll get over it. I've just got to be dramatic first," and "Stay positive. But not too positive. That's annoying."
Behind those words, sometimes barely visible and sometimes a focal point, are other words.
"I use vintage piano music in my work — that's one of the staples of my art," she said. "All the words and sayings are stamped onto music paper. I use a lot of old book pages, too. That's a very large part of my work. I've got a mini-library at my home filled with books people have thrown away or that I've found at used bookstores and thrift shops."
She also uses other recycled items for embellishment in her art, whether that's a Scrabble game tile, a button, a faucet knob, fashion jewelry or fabric.
"I've just started using fabrics in pieces," she said. "I learned to sew during the pandemic. I wanted to make a quilt, but I didn't want to make blocks of things. So I do what's called fiber-fusion — I make the design, fuse it onto a quilt, then add stitches. I'm always willing to try something new, even if it could be a total flop. It may not work, but it may turn into something super special. The possibilities are endless.""
For the past 10 years, Meadows has been taking her art to regional shows and festivals. She recently showed at the Gumtree Art & Wine Festival in Tupelo. Still to come this year are the Prairie Arts Festival in West Point on Sept. 3; the Robins Street Art Stroll in Tupelo on Sept. 17; and the Cotton District Arts Festival in Starkville on Oct. 29.
"I sold 82% of the pieces I carried to Gumtree," she said. "I know I had 235 pieces — probably more because the best ideas come to me about three days before a festival. After the 4th of July, I'll start working on my stock for Prairie Arts."
Prices for her art range from $5 to $125, and her pieces are easily recognized because the price tags are old playing cards.
"I've been doing that from the beginning," she said. "It keeps me unique, and it's a conversation starter at shows."
With two other jobs, you'd think Meadows would find it hard to make time to create her art. But that's not the case at all.
"My main workspace is at home, but if I'm dog-sitting at someone's home, I'll take supplies and use that time to be creative," she said. "I may work on my lunch break at TPSD, or if I go to my parents' house in Muscle Shoals, I take stuff with me. If I'm going to sit for any length of time, I can make a creative space for myself."
