Spring Gallery Exhibition Captures Former Faculty’s Journey Through Debilitating Disease

For many of us, a bout with COVID-19 means staying home for a few days, then recovering and returning to work. But for Kelly Domkoski Meiners, Ph.D., ’97, it has meant learning to cope with the results of the virus that took just about everything from her, except for her determination to reinvent herself and keep going.

Meiners’ presence returns to Rockhurst University, where she is an alumna and former faculty member in the Department of Physical Therapy, with “Inner Lines” in the Greenlease Gallery on campus. The exhibition of paintings will be available for viewing between Feb. 4 and May 5 in the gallery, which is open from 1-5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The opening reception for the exhibition is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6 in the gallery.

In late 2021, Meiners contracted an initially mild case of Covid. Although she had no preexisting conditions, exercised daily and enjoyed her job at as the chair of the Physical Therapy and Exercise Science Department at Rockhurst University, the virus left her 100% bedridden, unable to tolerate any light or sound and in a state of confusion, having difficulty understanding and following conversation.

As she lay in bed with no external stimulus for months at a time, Meiners said she began seeing shapes and colors that left her inspired to try to create art as a means of communicating and expressing her grief.  She overcame her physical challenges by working extremely slowly and creating her first piece with only acrylic paint and a shower squeegee to accommodate her loss of hand coordination.

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Today Meiners still spends most of her time in bed, on the sofa or navigating her house in a wheelchair. But her artwork, she says, has saved her life. Her work was included in a spring exhibition at InterUrban Arthouse in Overland Park, Kansas, titled “Artheals.” She received a National Endowment for the Arts visual arts award for her work, which was presented at the exhibition’s opening.

“Inner Lines,” a collection of her works in the Greenlease Gallery, captures Meiners’ transformation from sudden, debilitating post-COVID illness to a resilient, evolving artistic voice, using intuitive, physically demanding painting as both communication and healing, revealing a layered portrait of grief, adaptation, and hope.

“Painting has given a purpose back to my life,” Meiners said.  “Something I create has the power to go into the world and evoke thoughts and emotions in other people. That’s incredibly powerful to me living homebound in such a small world."  

“I’ve donated several pieces to charity,” she adds, “and just last week one of my donated pieces raised $17,000 for individuals battling cancer. To me that was a strong message that I still have a purpose. I can still help others.”