Biography

Cheri Holt, MFA

Cheri Holt has been painting and showing her work for the past 12 years. Her paintings and prints have been exhibited throughout the United States, including individual exhibitions at Fayetteville, Arkansas’ Walton Arts Center, Arsaga’s, Hardshare, and the Orpheum, as well as at the Victory Theater in Rogers. Cheri Holt’s work is included in private collections in Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and Arkansas. She holds specialized bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees with an emphasis in painting, printmaking and art history. Her work is featured and available internationally on an exclusive fine arts web site, ArtAreas.com. Cheri has been a professor of art and art history classes for several years, including teaching at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, the Walton Arts Center of Fayetteville, and currently, at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. She also works with children, and has created a series of workshops to develop artistic creativity for youth, as well as providing private and semi-private instruction for adults. Cheri is a contributor and illustrator of the upcoming book, Doors: Portals of Creativity, Risk and Transformation, by her sister, Jennifer Holt, Ph.D. Cards featuring Cheri’s artwork are also available through a New York greeting card company, articulate-ink.com.

Cheri has an avid interest in Mexican and Latin art, and has studied extensively in Italy and Mexico. She has also been influenced by her spiritual and new age beliefs. Her work has been called, "A vibrant mix of expressionist, indigenous, and mystical flavors." Cheri is currently working on a series of abstract expressionist paintings and is available for portraitures of people as well as their pets. She can be contacted at chehopro@yahoo.com.

Interview with illustrator, Cheri Holt, MFA

Doors: Portals of Creativity, Risk and Transformation, by Jennifer Holt, evolved from conversations with her sister, Cheri Holt, as well as inspiration from Cheri’s work as a fine artist. Jennifer recently had a conversation with Cheri about the role that doors–as portals of transformation–have played in her life.

[Jennifer:] As a woman now in your mid-40’s, what are some of the risks you have taken in your life so far, that you see as portals of transformation? What significant doors or doorways have you encountered in your lifetime, either symbolically or physically, such as during your travels around the world?

[Cheri] "I spent a summer in Italy–even though at the time I was in school, and broke, and it seemed extravagant and ridiculous, but I did it anyway. I had no idea what it would be like to go to ancient cities of the world, but it changed my entire perception, changed what I viewed as possibilities in my life, changed my view of cultures–Rome, in particular, had people from all over the world in it–but the coolest part was the architecture–in particular, the doorways, archways.

"I had one very vivid, unsettling experience involving doorways, by visiting the coliseum. Being psychic, I could feel the pain and death emanating from the rooms, from the entire structure, from all the animals and humans who were forced into the arena to fight to the death. At one time, a fabric covered the whole dome in case of rain. We had the opportunity to go inside with a guide; we saw the actual rooms down below, the hallways, doorways, that led out in to the arena. It is a labyrinth of pain…the minute I stepped through the door and onto the grounds, I could feel the darkness, the cruelty in the energy of the ancient Romans. In spite of the negative aspect, I felt transformed through time…transformed because it deepened my awareness of my psychic powers–I had no idea, it was very intense.

"In Pompeii, I had a similar experience. I could feel the terror that the people went through when the volcano had covered their city. I also felt like I had lived in the city before, with the group of students I was with on the summer study abroad trip. The dwellings in the city were incredible, with hand-molded doorways, preserved extremely well by the ash. There were no doors, just doorways, with light streaming through them, and through the windows as well. The doorways were shorter, since the people were generally smaller than we are today. Again, I had a psychic feeling, standing at the end of one of the main streets that runs all the way to the sea, it felt like a tunnel, because the road was so narrow, with these incredible ancient dwellings on either side, and then looking through this tunnel to the view of the azure ocean at the opening. I truly felt as if I had lived there before as an Italian peasant, that this view had been one of my everyday experiences as I made my way to the market, the shops, visited with neighbors. Experiences such as this transformed m–honestly–because it has made me want to live more simply, more in tune with nature, more in community with my neighbors. Our civilization has become so isolated, so stuck on ‘the grid’–we drive our air conditioned cars with the windows up, ears glued to our cell phones, enter our homes with garage door openers, then scurry inside, without making any contact with our neighbors. And we work way too much–in many countries, in ancient times, and even today, the shops are closed down at lunch time, everyone eats a big lunch, then takes a nap before returning. That feels so much more humane and sane to me.

"The doorways of Florence, particularly an area called Ponte Vecchio, were also amazing. This area has been owned for centuries by one of the oldest families of Italy, the de Medici family, and is basically a bridge over a river, which is in itself a type of gateway–from one side of the river to the other. This huge ‘bridge street’ is actually a series of tiny shops, a labyrinth of shops–all with absolutely stunning medieval doorways, each unique and gorgeous, featuring leather, huge iron rings, carvings, pounded metal strips, very ancient. We also spent time in the paises, or mountain country, of Italy. There were awesome, hand-built dwellings carved into the sides of the hills, seemingly molded into the mountain, and sidewalks with ceilings–built right into the mouton as well, running between the buildings, like a tunnel with an open side. The doors were very tiny–molded into the buildings, with stairways that led up to them.

"In Mexico, Mayan ruins, that feature beautiful stone archways for doorways, always fascinated me. I am particular drawn to those in the Yucatan area. I started reading about the Mayan civilization at a pretty young age–for example, I found out about the amazing durability of the architecture. They were built so well that they’re still standing today, from this extremely ancient civilization. The first time I flew into Cancun, Mexico, I got on bus and went straight to the Tulum ruins. They are incredible, with a beach down below where boats have been trading for centuries. After centuries, there is still pigment visible. And the windows are everywhere--from every angle you can see views of the ancient city. As you explore the ruins, you climb through doorway after tiny doorway–four feet tall maybe. I’m not sure if the height is due to the Mayans being short, or if there is a spiritual/cultural reason why they have such small openings. Above the temple doorways there are depictions of various gods and goddesses who guard the temples, such as the diving bee god. Tulum and Coba, two of the ancient cities, both traded honey, like our grandfather and mother’s family. The ‘corbel archways’ may have been the first arches created in the world perhaps–they were not connected to Europe, but were pre-European. During a time predating the "civilized" world of Europe, the Mayans were already doing really advanced work, not just in architecture, but in astronomy, agriculture, etc."

"There are actually several things that I wanted to do. As a young woman at around the age of 17 or 18, I was obsessed with living totally on the land and went so far as to read many books on this. The idea of a commune was the ideal life in my mind. I wanted to make my own soap and candles and grow my own wheat to grind into flour for bread. I guess I regret not doing that. At another time in my 20’s, I was adamant about flying a helicopter. I don't really regret doing that, because I don't think I really would have wanted to go through with all the hours and hours of instruction and flying time needed to get a license to fly. This was actually a fear that I wanted to face because I hated the feeling of flying and the butterflies in my stomach on a roller coaster or a dream of flying. Another fear and challenge I wanted to face–in my 30's I wanted to try doing a stint as a stand-up comic. Standing in front of a crowd of any size petrified me but I have a great sense of humor and knack for making people laugh. Eventually I taught students in graduate school and cured myself of this fear about speaking in front of groups.

"I went to Mexico one time as a single woman in my 40's and met the most handsome, perfect English man. He was leaving the next morning and I totally regret not having slept with him. We kept in touch but were not likely to ever see each other again. There are actually a lot of men that I met and didn't sleep with because of ingrained ‘moral values.’ When I was 37 or 38, I met the man of my visualizations. He came into the salon where I was working and had me cut his hair. The energy between us was palpable and after a year of haircuts, I finally asked him over to my house for dinner. We had an exotic night of food and drink with reggae music but he never pursued me. Years later and after fantasizing about him on and off, I decided to open the door and invite him in with an intense visualization and meditation. I used the meditation technique, the symbol/picture, the relaxation of the body, and a candle with music for over a half hour and really SAW him coming back into my life as a partner. The final step was to actually DO something physical, so I called his former wife's home!! And talked to his daughter to get his unlisted phone number. He eventually returned my call, asked me what I wanted, and we've been together ever since. This was a huge door for me to push through."

"As an artist, I really want to see my work in major New York galleries. As a gypsy, I hope to move to Mexico and live a simpler life."

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