Meet Charlie J. Meyers | Contemporary Fine Artist & Private Mentor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Charlie J. Meyers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Charlie J., we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

I graduated with my MFA in painting in 2014. From 2014 to 2020, I worked various jobs throughout the art world and sold my work in galleries and to online collectors. Before the pandemic, I was working in haute couture fashion, as the leading clutch artisan and fashion production manager for designer Jeffrey Levinson. The pandemic caused the fashion world to come to a halt and I decided it was time to return to art full-time. I took what I learned from working in fashion design and started my art consulting business “The Moon Cheese Curator”, while continuing to sell and exhibit my own work. The main goal of my business is to use my adverse experiences as a disabled artist to help and empower others, so they can return to creativity.

I’ve been living with disabilities for close to a decade. Almost immediately after graduate school, I was hit by a car while riding my bicycle home. The Moon Cheese Curator started as a simple idea and grew from there – curate art onto a page while prioritizing the work and stories of disabled artists. I wanted to feel less alone. I wanted others to feel less alone. Within months I was asked to curate an exhibition and had lots of artists reaching out to me to share their disability story, requesting my support.

I realized that my 9 years of accident recovery had led me down a difficult but incredible path. I was able to return to making artwork full-time while living with disabilities and I could help other people do the same! I have a certificate in mentorship and a background as a professor, and decided it was time to put that to good use. I wanted to make meaning out of years of hardship.

For the last few years I have been working 1:1 and in groups with neurodivergent and disabled artists (and anyone else who wants my help). Through my business, I have been coaching artists online and in person. I help my clients with disability strategy, mindset, organization, time management, and more. I also teach painting, drawing, color theory, figuration, and other art concepts. Helping my clients expand their art practices, meet their goals, and in some cases return to creativity has been an incredibly fulfilling process. I truly believe that what I am doing today is what I am meant to be doing. Everything has a purpose.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I am a painter with a BFA in painting and drawing from Tyler School of Art, Temple University and an MFA in Studio Arts from Concordia University of Montreal. I completed my MFA degree in 2014. From there I worked for a commercial art company, several galleries, and in high fashion. In 2020, I started my business “The Moon Cheese Curator”. Since then I have been featured in several podcasts and magazines including “I Like Your Work” and “Create Magazine”.

I work in oils, watercolor, and acrylic. My work can be split up into three sub-bodies: figurative abstraction, works on paper, and experimental postcards. My most recent body of oil paintings called “Dark Bloom” was inspired by my meditation practice, journey with chronic pain, my deep dive into embodiment, psilocybin, and other alternative adventures into the sublime and unknown. Dark Bloom represents coming through the darkest of times and blooming irregardless of circumstance; leaning into the wonders and beauty of life. In doing so, this is an act of resistance and a way of truly being present in your body and mind. Pleasure and beauty in art is my resistance to pain in all its forms.

Nothing about my journey has been easy. In 2014, I was disabled by a car accident. I live with a traumatic brain injury, nerve damage, chronic migraines, and many other life long disabilities.In order to create large paintings again, I went through 8 years of physical therapy. I have learned to never take a moment alone in my studio for granted, to see each challenge as an opportunity in disguise, and to live in gratitude to my chosen family. Life isn’t about overcoming, it’s about learning to work with what you’ve got in front of you. I have learned that living in opposition, in an endless battle with life is not the path forward. I created my business The Moon Cheese Curator, so I could live in service to art, to other artists, and to my creative muse.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take my best friend to the Philadelphia Art Museum, out to dinner in West Philly, and to my studio in North Philly. The rest of the time we would just hang out and talk at a local coffee shop or watch movies in bed! We have a pact that we keep it boring haha aka we relax. There is no need for an itinerary, when you can talk for hours.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout today is to my writing partner and best friend Sarah Jansen. Over the last decade of friendship, she has been there for me through hell and high water. We have collaborated on many projects together, encouraged one another, and always had each other’s backs. I believe the phrase “ride or die” friend is appropriate here.

Website: charliejmeyers.com

Instagram: @charliejmeyers; @mooncheesecurator

Image Credits
Charlie J. Meyers; Artist