Stories of Resilience: Meridian Culpepper
Meridian’s story, my first conducted remotely via Zoom, stands out as a testament to the strength it takes to redefine oneself in the face of disillusionment.
Stories of Resilience is a personal photography project dedicated to capturing the voices and faces of those whose lives and careers have been disrupted by the ongoing challenges in the entertainment industry.
Through deep conversations and portraits, this series aims to document the strength, vulnerability, and perseverance of artists navigating an industry in flux. If you or someone you know has a story to tell, I invite you to visit my website and fill out the form to be a part of this project.
To capture Meridian’s story during our remote session, I had to create portraits that conveyed the feeling of both distance and intimacy. So, I decided to get creative at the studio. I hope you enjoy this week’s conversation.
Thank you for reading.
When Meridian Culpepper filled out the form for this project, I knew I would hear a story of resilience, but I wasn’t quite prepared for all her strength and authenticity. Sitting in her sunroom, surrounded by the greenery of a small plant nursery, Meridian reflects on a journey that’s been anything but conventional.
A self-taught artist, Meridian’s path began without the formal training many in this field typically rely on. She crafted her major in animation at Indiana University, where no dedicated program existed to guide her ambitions. But it wasn’t until 2020, in the middle of a lockdown, that she discovered storyboarding as a gateway into the world of animation she had always dreamed of.
“It was never my end goal,” she admits, “but it was a door. And I thought, well, I can draw and know what I want. So I can try this.”
When Meridian first considered applying to Pixar, she wasn’t sure she’d make it. She almost didn’t apply until her mother encouraged her to leap, pushing her to try for a role at one of the most iconic animation studios. To her astonishment, her unwavering determination landed an internship at Pixar in the story department. She attributes this milestone to her tenacity and her innate storytelling abilities.
Her time at the Emeryville studio ended up being one of the most challenging periods of her career. Being one of the few interns without a formal art school background, Meridian was thrust into an environment where daily critique was relentless, and the caliber of talent around her was intimidating.
“I had just started learning this, and here I was with people who’d been doing it for 20 years,” she shares. Unprepared for the rigorous feedback culture, she questioned her skills and battled intense self-doubt. “I was used to being daddy’s special little girl, and suddenly I was realizing I wasn’t the most talented person in the room,” she reflects. This experience compelled her to confront her insecurities, ultimately transforming her approach to her art and self-worth.
At the end of her internship, Meridian felt humbled and inspired, armed with the hard-won insights from her time at Pixar. With a renewed sense of purpose, she set her sights on Los Angeles, a city she’d long dreamed of, packed with the biggest animation studios and creative opportunities. She landed a position at Skydance Animation, which felt like a significant step toward solidifying her place in the industry and making LA her new home.
But just as she began to find her footing, the landscape around her shifted. Layoffs, project cancellations, and a contracting industry began to darken her path. Despite her excitement and dedication, the animation world in LA was changing faster than she’d anticipated. In early 2023, her role at Skydance was cut, leaving her adrift in a city that had once held so much promise. Over the next year (around sixteen months), Meridian searched tirelessly for work, facing the stark reality that LA’s opportunities were no longer what they seemed and that stability in the industry was slipping further out of reach.
Los Angeles, with its soaring costs and dwindling job market, became a place of constant anxiety and self-doubt. She describes that period as a tumultuous rollercoaster that she couldn’t get off, characterized by intense emotional swings, overwhelming uncertainty, and ultimately, the realization that her worth couldn’t be measured by an industry struggling to recognize and value its artists.
“It was a roller coaster,” Meridian says, recalling those sixteen months in LA after her layoff. “Every day, I’d swing from ‘I don’t need them; they’re wrong’ to nitpicking every little mistake I’d made, wondering if that one drawing was what ruined everything.”
After months of overanalyzing and emotional strain, she reached a breaking point, realizing that staying was becoming more painful than leaving. “I pushed myself as long as I could, but eventually, the strain of trying to make it in LA started affecting my well-being,” she explains. “When simply staying there began to feel like a source of pain, that’s when I knew it was time to leave. It took me months to understand that I deserved better.”
She called her Mom. “I want to go home”.
I pushed myself as long as I could, but eventually, the strain of trying to make it in LA started affecting my well-being,
A New Beginning
Back in the Midwest, Meridian embarked on a new chapter, one that has reshaped her understanding of art, storytelling, and her place in the world.
Teaching animation to kids on the autism spectrum at a private school in Indianapolis has rekindled her love for drawing, offering her a chance to cherish her creativity in ways she never experienced within the industry’s walls. At the same time, her role as a teacher sparked the idea of building something of her own, leading her to launch Herringbone Animation, an independent studio focused on putting artists first.
For Meridian, both roles represent more than just career moves. They are lifelines, opportunities to reclaim her creativity on her terms.
Working with her students has reignited her love for drawing, a passion she had nearly lost during her time in LA. “These kids aren’t afraid to voice their ideas,” she explains, smiling as she recounts their boundless creativity. “They’ll draw their dream bikes, teleportation devices, entire worlds. They’re unbothered by the rules of the animation industry. They’re free.” It’s a spirit that has inspired her work, reminding her of the joy and unfiltered creativity that first drew her to animation.
Herringbone Animation, her newly founded studio, reflects Meridian’s vision for a different kind of industry, one that values artists as individuals rather than commodities. “At Herringbone, we say ‘artists first, story second,’” she states with quiet conviction. “Because when you take care of artists, they make great work for you.”
At Herringbone [Animation], we say ‘artists first, story second, because when you take care of artists, they make great work for you.
Her first official project at her studio was a thoughtfully crafted credit sequence that marked the beginning of her journey to redefine storytelling on her terms.
Her studio’s first short film, Planet Jane, is currently in production. It is a story born out of her own struggles with the industry. It tackles themes of self-worth and the toxic dynamics that can arise when one’s identity is tied too closely to work. For Meridian, it’s a way to share her story in a medium that has always been her refuge.
As she navigates this new path, Meridian remains clear-eyed about the challenges facing the animation industry. “Streaming messed things up,” she says. “There’s no sustainable income model for it, and as studios grow bigger, they get greedier. It’s no longer about the artists; it’s about the shareholders.” Yet, despite her criticisms, she’s not waiting for the industry to change. She’s building her vision of what animation can be, a community-centered approach where artists are supported, valued, and given the freedom to explore.
It’s no longer about the artists; it’s about the shareholders.
Meridian leaves us with a powerful reminder of what resilience truly looks like. “People always say, ‘Don’t rock the boat,’ but I think our industry needs more people willing to stand up and say, ‘This isn’t good enough.’ We’ve been conditioned to accept scraps and stay silent, but that silence is hurting us. We deserve more.” Her words resonate as both a challenge and an invitation to action: resilience doesn’t mean merely surviving, it means creating a world where you can thrive.
Meridian’s story is of quiet strength found in rediscovering herself far from the industry’s spotlight. Her journey speaks to a different kind of courage, the courage to walk away, to rebuild, and to find purpose in places that many overlook. In her words and in the boundless creativity she now inspires in her students, we find a reminder that art and passion can flourish in even the most unlikely of landscapes.
It’s a story of rediscovery, of choosing peace over prestige, and of realizing that our worth doesn’t depend on a city or an industry’s approval.
Perhaps it’s the quiet persistence, the decision to keep creating, to hold onto our stories, and to seek new paths, that becomes our anchor. “If we find the courage to choose our path, even if it means letting go of what we once thought we wanted, we might just create something that feels like home.”
In an industry that frequently pressures artists to remain silent, perhaps it’s time to muster the courage to speak up, demand better working conditions, and establish spaces where authenticity and creativity are genuinely cherished.
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If we find the courage to choose our path, even if it means letting go of what we once thought we wanted, we might just create something that feels like home.
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If you found Meridian’s story compelling, please consider sharing this piece with others. I’m actively seeking more voices willing to share their journey, struggles, and triumphs within the creative fields surrounding this industry. Reach out via my website if you, or anyone you know, might be interested in joining this project.
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