As a senior at the University of Kansas graduating in May, Dusty Meyers will leave quite the mark on the artistic community at KU and in Lawrence. Studying Visual Arts with a focus in Sculpture, Dusty has been a part of many groups and has donated time and efforts to nurturing the arts here at KU. Although the School of the Arts may comparably be a bit smaller than some of the other schools at KU, some of the most inspiring and motivated students walk the halls of the Art and Design building, alongside Murphy Hall and Marvin.
Dusty was involved with Amnesty International his first two years at KU and currently he is the president of KU Ministry of Sculpture. As president, he leads workshops and demos that are open to the public alongside other sculpture students and professors at KU. He has had the opportunity to create a prototype for the engineering department’s sculpture competition to work towards bringing art into the buildings on campus, much like the efforts of a city to provide public art for the community. Dusty won many scholarships and most notably he received a scholarship that enabled him to study abroad in Finland for two years. His work has been shown in gallery spaces and in juried shows and most currently his work was on display at the Phoenix Gallery on Massachusetts Street and in the Art and Design office for his honor as ‘Student Artist of the Semester’ for the Spring. Other notable shows he has participated in include the annual scholarship show put on by the Visual Arts Program at KU and also two international shows in Finland while he was there.
In his free time, Dusty enjoys listening to Mogwai, Balmorhea and Explosions in the Sky. He also enjoys reading, playing video games and riding his bike. When asked to describe himself in a few words, he says he is dedicated, passionate and a teammate. His role models have been his dad and recent grad students studying sculpture such as Denise Dippiazo. The inspiration for his work comes from his childhood, especially where his materials come from and the subject matter he borrows. At KU he has learned to rely on himself for most things so that he may stay focused and diligent in his works.
His future plans in the immediate future are to return to Kansas City to continue making art and to find artists to intern with or assist in their studios. He hopes to move out of the Midwest and make a name for himself in another city with his art and also open up a public workshop that allows the general public to have access to tools and equipment for working with wood and metal.
His advice to undergraduates is, “Don’t distract yourself with things that don’t matter. Get your work done; you have you whole life ahead of you for those distractions.”