About the Artist
Melissa spent her formative years on the island of Cyprus surrounded by the luscious Mediterranean landscape filled with pink flamingos, anemones and African migratory birds.
Greek mythology still pervaded the ancient culture. These were major influences that carried over into her work as sources of inspiration. Her love of the natural world, its innate beauty and ability to adapt and transform external influences in creative ways and how we connect with it through story has found diverse expressions in her artworks.
Since her return to the Northwest she has been involved with Native American culture and is influenced by their connection to nature expressed in native art, stories and way of life. Combined with her concern about how human habitation impacts the earth Melissa has been lead to pursue this in her work using these influences as vehicles that bring us to a greater awareness and understanding of the need for a more balanced relationship with the natural living world.
Melissa moved back to America from Europe at the end of the 1990's and set up an art studio at Artwood Studios in Seattle. In conjunction with working on her own fine art projects Melissa co founded the program 'Carving Cultural Connections' with a Haida master canoe carver. Together they carved five ocean going canoes teaching youth as part of the King County Arts in Education grants about working as community and helping them develop an eco consciousness. She has worked extensively in recent years on public art commissions including projects for The City of Seattle Office Of Arts and Culture, Seattle Parks Department and Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Housing Authority, UW Medical Center, Swedish Medical, The Hearthstone Retirement Community, Community House, Horizon House and The City of Burien, Melissa has exhibited her work in group shows at COCA Center on Contemporary Art, Museo gallery, 4 Culture gallery, Rob Schouten Gallery, Era Living, Kirsten Art Gallery and WICA,
as well as many high end design showrooms including Roche Bobois and the Seattle Design Center.
Melissa received an Artist Trust GAP grant in 2016 for her project Winged Migrations and a Whidbey Island Arts Council Fall Visual Artist Grant for her project 'A Place To Dream'. She had a solo show at Museo Gallery in Langley in October of 2016 and received two public art awards summer of 2016 for Put Art In Parks and Art Interruptions funded through the Office of Arts and Culture, Seattle Parks Department and Seattle Department of Transportation and a shop front installation for Lake City Future First. Her installation 'The Story Of Water' was featured at the beginning of 2016 at The Whidbey Institute for their conference on- water as an endangered resource -and her work was exhibited at two COCA ( Center On Contemporary Art) shows at The Columbia Winery
and the Fisher Pavilion.
Melissa ran a number of community engagement workshops in 2016 with immigrant and refugee families and children in conjunction with her public art commissions and is currently the artist in residence at Fremont Community School creating art experiences for pre schoolers and teaches art to elders at a retirement home in North Seattle creating opportunities for them to discover their inner artist. She is closing out the year working on several super large scale installations in her studio so stay tuned for these in 2017 and on the smaller end of the scale she has been up-cycling found Holiday cards. Watch for yours in the mail.
Melissa is currently represented by the Seattle Art Museum Gallery and Museo Gallery in Langley, WA.
Greek mythology still pervaded the ancient culture. These were major influences that carried over into her work as sources of inspiration. Her love of the natural world, its innate beauty and ability to adapt and transform external influences in creative ways and how we connect with it through story has found diverse expressions in her artworks.
Since her return to the Northwest she has been involved with Native American culture and is influenced by their connection to nature expressed in native art, stories and way of life. Combined with her concern about how human habitation impacts the earth Melissa has been lead to pursue this in her work using these influences as vehicles that bring us to a greater awareness and understanding of the need for a more balanced relationship with the natural living world.
Melissa moved back to America from Europe at the end of the 1990's and set up an art studio at Artwood Studios in Seattle. In conjunction with working on her own fine art projects Melissa co founded the program 'Carving Cultural Connections' with a Haida master canoe carver. Together they carved five ocean going canoes teaching youth as part of the King County Arts in Education grants about working as community and helping them develop an eco consciousness. She has worked extensively in recent years on public art commissions including projects for The City of Seattle Office Of Arts and Culture, Seattle Parks Department and Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Housing Authority, UW Medical Center, Swedish Medical, The Hearthstone Retirement Community, Community House, Horizon House and The City of Burien, Melissa has exhibited her work in group shows at COCA Center on Contemporary Art, Museo gallery, 4 Culture gallery, Rob Schouten Gallery, Era Living, Kirsten Art Gallery and WICA,
as well as many high end design showrooms including Roche Bobois and the Seattle Design Center.
Melissa received an Artist Trust GAP grant in 2016 for her project Winged Migrations and a Whidbey Island Arts Council Fall Visual Artist Grant for her project 'A Place To Dream'. She had a solo show at Museo Gallery in Langley in October of 2016 and received two public art awards summer of 2016 for Put Art In Parks and Art Interruptions funded through the Office of Arts and Culture, Seattle Parks Department and Seattle Department of Transportation and a shop front installation for Lake City Future First. Her installation 'The Story Of Water' was featured at the beginning of 2016 at The Whidbey Institute for their conference on- water as an endangered resource -and her work was exhibited at two COCA ( Center On Contemporary Art) shows at The Columbia Winery
and the Fisher Pavilion.
Melissa ran a number of community engagement workshops in 2016 with immigrant and refugee families and children in conjunction with her public art commissions and is currently the artist in residence at Fremont Community School creating art experiences for pre schoolers and teaches art to elders at a retirement home in North Seattle creating opportunities for them to discover their inner artist. She is closing out the year working on several super large scale installations in her studio so stay tuned for these in 2017 and on the smaller end of the scale she has been up-cycling found Holiday cards. Watch for yours in the mail.
Melissa is currently represented by the Seattle Art Museum Gallery and Museo Gallery in Langley, WA.
