nika “early bird” meyers

Born and raised in the hills of Bridgewater, VT nestled among fresh produce and hardwoods, she grew up a visual learner and was fascinated by the natural world. At age 11, inspired by her community needs, she co-founded with her twin sister, Change the World Kids, a teen run non-profit dedicated to making the world a better place free of charge. There, a conservation project was born, conserving and restoring habitat in Costa Rica for neo-tropical migrants and endangered species. Migration patterns and connectivity were key concepts she learned from a young age. 

She received a degree in Studio Art and Environmental Studies from Mount Holyoke College where she focused on visually representing landscapes in terms of systems through printmaking, paper making and mixed media. Her thesis, titled Interconnectedness: How do we Form a Relationship to a Changing Landscape, incorporated elements of both the human made and natural world through installation pieces and large 2 demential work. Her work was chosen for several shows including, the Arches Student Print Exhibition, and the National Collegiate Handmade Paper Art Triennial. During these college years she visited New York City and Boston countless times to learn from the Urban working art communities. 

Instead of immediately pursuing a career in art, she served as an AmeriCorps member for the Green Mountain Club, a trail organization in Vermont. Here she was introduced to the long distance hiking. Inspired by animal migrations and her curiosity of landscape, she has hiked over 12,000+ miles connecting communities and ecosystems. She went on to set Fastest Know Times on the Vermont Long Trail and the Colorado Trail. Between hikes she worked seasonally in her family restaurant, as a trail crew member, as a backcountry caretaker, and an environmental educator.  

She moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 2018 where she returned to her art career. Her current process incorporates plein air watercolor painting as a way to deeply observe her environment. She collaborates with local non-profits and organizations and was a recipient of the inaugural Cultural Vibrancy Grant Fellowship through the City of Aspen in 2024. She is a resident artist at the Red Brick Center for the Arts and is the head coach for the DEVO nordic ski team at the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club.

To walk among the wild things, to take time to really see and not just look, and to create pieces that celebrate raw beauty are part of who she is. Imagination, curiosity, migrations, physical and mental challenge, wild places, trails, and the interconnectedness of this world inspire her to dream big. The wild and rugged landscapes have become more a home than any space with four walls and moving at a 3 mile an hour pace is where she finds the most peace.

PRESS

Fastest Known Time Podcast - January 2022 - “FKT of the Year Awards #1 Winners”
AT Journeys - Fall 2021 - “Delicate Links” Illustration
Aspen Public Radio - October 25, 2021 - “Bark beetles on the move in Aspen, and how the climate crisis is driving local infestations”
Channel 9 News - August 6, 2021 - “History made on Colorado trail; fastest time by a lone woman”
AT Journeys - Summer 2021 - “Trail as Muse.” - Cover Art
Ed-Venture Series: Appalachian Trail Conservancy - February 2021 - “Vermont: Wandering the Appalachian Trail Through Time and Space”
Fastest Know Time Podcast - January 2020 - “FKT of the Year Awards Part 1”
Vermont Sports Magazine - January 2020 - “Athletes of the Year”
Vermont Sports Magazine - Nov/Dec 2019 - “There’s a New Long Trail FKT”
Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly - Fall 2019 - “Reaching Great Heights”
Vermont Sports Magazine - August 2019 - ”The Vermonter and the Gear that Survived 9,000 Miles in 22 states over 3 Epic Hikes”
Backpacker Magazine - July/August 2019 - “Trail by Design”
Change the World Kids - 2003 - CO-Founder/ Board member

Talks/ events

March 23rd, 2024 - “Trail Experiences through Art and FKTs” - ALDA Ruck ALDHA Colorado Ruck, Wheat Ridge, CO
September 24th, 2022 - 1:00 PM - “The Art of FKTs: Exploring the Process Through Creativity” - ALDHA Gathering, Keystone, CO
September 7th, 2022 - 7:30 PM - “Exploring the Line: Creativity along the CDT” - CDT Daze, Leadville, CO
February 9th, 2022 - 6:00 PM - “Dancing With Lightning: Setting the Self-Supported Female fastest Known Time on the Colorado Trail” - ACES @ Hallam Lake, Aspen, CO
February 3rd, 2021 - 4:00 PM EST - “ Vermont: Wandering the Appalachian Trail Through Time and Space” - Online on Zoom/ facebook
January 5th, 2020 - 7:00 PM MST - "Rugged Happiness: Setting the Unsupported Female Fastest Known Time on Vermont's Long Trail" - ACES @ Hallam lake, Aspen, CO
December 20th, 20219 - 7:00 PM EST - “Rugged Happiness: Setting the Unsupported Female Fastest Known Time on Vermont’s Long Trail” - GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center, VT
January 30th, 2019 - 7:00 PM - “Big Miles & Raw Smiles: Endurance on America's "Triple Crown" Hiking Trails” - ACES @ Hallam Lake, Aspen, CO
December 20th, 2018 - 7:00 PM - “Flying Northbound to the Triple Crown” - GMC Visitor Center, Waterbury Center, VT

Art Shows

2025
Cultural Vibrancy Fellowship Exhibition, Red Brick Center for the Arts, Aspen, CO

2024
Resident Artist Exhibition, Red Brick Center for the Arts, Aspen, CO
Deck the Walls, Launchpad Gallery, Carbondale, CO
Small Wonders, Aspen Chapel Gallery, Aspen, CO
Snowmass Plein Air Festival, Snowmass, CO
Fortune Teller, Red Brick Center for the Arts, Aspen, CO
45th Annual Valley Visual Art Show, Launchpad Gallery, Carbondale, CO
Para La Tierra, Silent Auction, Woodstock, VT

2023
Deck the Walls, Launchpad Gallery, Carbondale, CO
Snowmass Plein Air Festival, Snowmass, CO
Small Wonders, Aspen Chapel Gallery, Aspen, CO
Para La Tierra, Silent Auction, Woodstock, VT

2022
Small Wonders, Aspen Chapel Gallery, Aspen, CO
Para La Tierra, Silent Auction, Woodstock, VT

2021
Happy Trails, Aspen Chapel Gallery, Aspen, CO 
Small Wonders, Aspen Chapel Gallery, Aspen CO
Para La Tierra, Silent Auction, Woodstock, VT

2020
Art for the Pass, Aspen Chapel Gallery, Aspen, CO

2019
Art for ACES, Aspen Chapel Gallery, Aspen, CO
Trail by Design, Backpacker Magazine and Merrell Partnership, Online Contest
Para La Tierra, Silent Auction, Woodstock, VT

2017
Para La Tierra, Silent Auction, Woodstock, VT

2016
National Collegiate Handmade Paper Art Triennial, The Corcoran, Washington D.C.
Para La Tierra, Silent Auction, Woodstock, VT

2011
Senior Thesis Show, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, MA
Arches Student Print Exhibition, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA
Para La Tierra, Silent Auction, Woodstock, VT

2010
5 College Advanced Drawing Seminar Exhibition, Eli Marsh Gallery, Amherst, MA
The Cows Come Home to Burlington, Church Street, Burlington, VT
Miniature Installation in the Field, AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH
Bare Nutrients, Blanchard Student Art Gallery, South Hadley, MA

Follow along the journey through Instagram @earlybirdhikes.art and @nika.meyers.art