Darcy Meeker tools copper (from earrings to 38-foot wall work), creates sculpture in stone, clay, silk, aluminum, and, well, pretty much anything she can get her hands on, and paints, collages and prints on a variety of materials with the same wide-ranging enthusiasm.
It all started when she made her first face in clay at age 44 and discovered sculpting magic in her hands. Some 57 faces later, she carved her first stone at a two-day workshop and traded it with the teacher for a set of tools and a new rock. Soon, she resigned from the agricultural extension communications faculty at the University of Florida and moved to Blacksburg to carve out a new life for herself as an artist.
Blacksburg opened its arms to her and she has enjoyed a long and successful artistic career in the community, full of exhibitions, teaching, and art-community building.
In August 2011, Darcy suffered two small strokes that landed her in the hospital followed by an extensive stay in a rehabilitation facility in Roanoke, not to return home until the first week of October. Her speech has been slow to return and she is following an intense regimen of physical and speech therapies. Anyone who knows Darcy knows that making art gives her strength in the face of adversity and this experience has been no different. Since returning home, Darcy has launched back into her studio, creating art with passion and purpose. These recent works have been as much about healing as they have been about her love affair with the material and have helped significantly with her recovery.
Her husband Jim Pease, a professor of agricultural economics at Virginia Tech, lavishes her with love and support the likes of which no partner on this earth could equal. His dedication to Darcy is the reason she is still with us today, creating beautiful art and making us all laugh.