Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Autumn 2013 | Page 58

Art of Nature
Judy Meyer Thompson ’77 grew up in Elmhurst
but spent the summers of her childhood roaming
100 acres of wilderness in Wisconsin, where she
developed an abiding interest in the natural world.
The Northwoods campus of HoneyRock drew
Judy to Wheaton, where she majored in science
and physical education and studied ecology
and botany at the Wheaton College Science
Station in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Though
always interested in art, Judy didn’t fully pursue
her passion until her children went to college.
“It was then that I gave myself permission to
diligently work at my art and to explore all of my
pent-up creativity,” she says.
Often inspired by the imagery of the prairie,
Judy’s work can be found in galleries in South
Dakota and Nebraska. After completing an
Artist Residency at the Badlands National
Monument, Judy created the Homestead Series,
a group of 12 paintings currently touring
throughout the Midwest.
Recently appointed as a teaching artist for
schools and communities by The Nebraska Arts
Council, Judy lives in Orange City, Iowa, with her
husband, Dale Allan Thompson ’76, who is the
“Redhead”

assistant vice president for student development

Watercolor and Charcoal on Paper

at Northwestern College.

Image size: 16" x 16"