Mirra (Louella) Meyer, 1942-2019

"Untitled," 1981 #1488, batik.

My mother, the artist Mirra Meyer, earlier known as Louella Meyer, Lou Meyer Walker, or Lou Robillard, passed away on Good Friday, April 19, 2019, at her home in Portland.  

Raised on farms in Iowa and Missouri, she came to Portland in 1969 and led a successful career as an artist in the 1970s and 1980s, exhibiting at major galleries throughout Oregon and beyond.  A leading arts advocate, she helped to found the Oregon Designer-Craftsmen's Guild and served on the board of Oregon Advocates for the Arts and Oregon Artists' Equity, pivotal groups in the development of the arts as a viable profession at that time.

 

A collection of images of her work can be found at the end of this post.

 

For most of this period her medium was batik, a traditional Javanese form.  In batik, the artist applies wax to a fabric in some design, then dyes the fabric.  The dye colors the fabric only where there is no wax.  This process is repeated to create multiple shades of color progressing from lighter to darker.  

 

Batik is the opposite of painting in that the artist constructs the image negatively, creating the absence of color rather than its presence.  Only the brightest colors were applied directly as in most art forms.

 

Mirra adapted this traditional medium to create dramatic landscapes and abstracts, mostly pieces framed under glass as well as soft hangings and quilts.  Life, in her work, takes the form of trees whose roots and branches are identical, yielding a form that is both a living subject and a complex stitch holding the world together. 

 

Even seen under glass, the austerity of her images contrasts with the intrinsic warmth of cloth, and with the gentle "crackle" effect she created by folding the waxed areas so that small rivulets of dye penetrate them.

 

In addition to her artistic career, Mirra held numerous arts management positions over the years. As Community Development Director for the Arizona Arts Commission (1985-89), she helped communities all over the state with local arts projects and arts elements of infrastructure.  She later served as Executive Director of Portland's downtown arts festival Artquake (1991-92), and finally, a subject dear to her heart, as the director of the Historic Cemeteries program for the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office.  

 

In the 1990s she shifted from batik to paintings, watercolors, and prints, many inspired by her year-long sojourn in the countryside near Canberra, Australia in 1994. After that time, Australia's eucalyptus trees, whose branches are often suggestive of human limbs, became the dominant tree form in her work.

 

Throughout her life she was devoted to gardening, often with the goal of attracting wildlife, and to the many animals who passed through her care.  She was especially fond of elderly animals.  Cats 0ften came to her late in life and she helped several achieve remarkable lifespans.  She also owned one of the world's oldest chickens, Golda, who is around 20 years old and who survives her.  

 

Although she lived alone, she passed away in the company of one of her dearest friends, Nan Evans Miller, who happened to be visiting at the time.

 

She was twice married, to my father Don Walker 1961-67 and to Max Robillard 1969-78.  I am her only living relative.

 

How You Might Help

 

You may be able to help with one of the following:

• We know we do not have a complete list of everyone who would care about this news, so please forward this to others in your network who might have known her.
• If you would be interested in attending a simple gathering in Portland in honor of Mirra, please respond and let me know, using the email button at right.  I am not sure who is out there in the network of artists and creative people who were touched by her life.  
• If you own a piece of Mirra's work, we would be grateful for a photograph of it.   
• I would also love to hear your own stories and remembrances. 

We hope to expand this post to include an online gallery featuring highlights of her work, and perhaps to construct a book of this material. 

 

Thank you for reading, and for helping me put together the full story of who she was as an artist and human being. 

 

Gallery

 

Below are a few works from key periods of Mirra's life that we own or have records of.  We hope to build a more complete gallery over time.  Most of this work is available for purchase; contact me via the email button at the bottom of the text in the bar at right.

 

 

A typical early tree image, c. 1975, #896, batik. Note the two moons or suns.

 

 

Desert Walk, 1984, #1583, batik.

 

 

Untitled, 1996 #1645, reverse painting on plexiglas

 

 

 

Untitled eucalyptus image, late 1990s. (watercolor?)

 

 

 

Untitled, found in her studio, 2019, acrylic or oil in cardboard.

 

Please return to this post.  We will add more images as we find more of her work.  Blessings to you all.

 

Comments

[Sharon Marcus]

I knew Mira in the 70s and was sorry that we completely lost touch when she moved to the Southwest. I remember her as a thoughtful and compassionate person, full of ideas and energy.

[Patricia Toolan]

Mirra was such a beautiful host to me when I came to Oregon as part of my Churchill Fellowship in 2002. Mirra took me to so many different Oregon cemeteries to show me their survival roses. Mirra was a mover and shaker and I can see I only knew a small part of her in our short time together. What a wonderful legacy and much love.

[Mike Williams]

My condolences to you Jarrett and her friends. There are some gorgeous pieces in the gallery above; pieces #1488 and #1583 are particularly evocative. I think she would have been a fine stained glass artist if she had turned to that medium.

[Mara Stahl]

With love, we recall Mirra’s warmth as a friend and work as an artist. Our most cherished memory is of her eyes. Those glorious eyes looked out into the natural world, then transformed the energy of its roots and branches into stunning work. And we could look into those eyes, eyes which both saw beauty and were seen as beauty. She lives on in the art of her being. Thank you, Jarrett, for your care.

Msra Stahl and Ken Gerner

[Dan Boyle]

Jarrett, condolences on your mom's passing. Never easy, but I'm sure she was proud of you.

[Paul & Man-Ching]

I first met Mirra at an exhibition in Oregon in 1977. Our friendship grew over the years as I visited Oregon; and she was a happy and supportive witness at our wedding in Portland. Mirra stayed at and looked after our house near Canberra and our dogs while we were away in Switzerland. The dogs loved her and formed a close bond with her. Mirra became very active in the Canberra and New South Wales community building a vibrant network of good friends. She saw the antipodean environment through delighted eyes which inspired her art. The violence of bush fire inspired her as did the eucalypts which appeared in her art. Mirra’s presence will be missed, while at the same time she lives on in our hearts. Our thoughts and love are with you Jarrett. Paul & Man-Ching.

[Mary Rizk]

Jarrett, I'm shocked and saddened to hear of Mirra's death.

David and I met her and Max R. in 1969 and continued contact through the years, even after our move to Australia -- though we did lose touch in the last number of years.

We have a couple of her pieces of art. I'll try to get a pics of them and email them to you.

Fondly, Mary Rizk

[Boni Deal]

As a fellow batik artist, I greatly admired the batik of Mirra Meyer (then Lou Robillard). Dave and I enjoyed meeting with her and other members of the Oregon Designer-Craftsmen's Guild during the 1970s. We send our sincere condolences to Jarret and family & friends. Best, Boni & Dave Dealatik

[Cheryl Snow]

I send condolences to you...... I knew your mother in the 70s & 80s via Portland’s small (at the time!) arts scene. She was prominent then & admired by all. We reconnected decades later, during my arts administration career, when she was with the Cemeteries program. Life goes by so quickly... she was a bright light.

[boyd]

hi there, saw this on craigslist...appears to be a self-portrait

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/clt/d/portland-60-o-oil-painting-by-pnw-artist/6976746013.html