Melissa Woodburn
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am inspired by using a variety of media to express statements about the rhythms and cycles of living. The creative nature of the universe excites me and I filter this through my lens of female experience.
I began working with pine needles in 1996 as a direct result of living under some messy long needled pine trees. I started combining them with ceramic in 2001, literally sticking my hands into the earth, as a way to heal my creative soul after the 9/11 terror attacks. I also work with other reused materials (such as shipping cardboards, reused buttons, ocean kelp or estate jewelry) as they come my way, sometimes combining these with ceramic, also.
ARTIST BIO
I always planned to be an artist. I was one of those kids who drew every day and by doing this, I learned to be a close observer of nature. When I was ten years old, my family moved to the country outside of Des Moines, Iowa, where I was free to roam the woods on my horse, observing blooming and hatching cycles close up. Earning a BFA in college and working as a graphic designer for fifteen years helped attune my eye to pattern and repetition.
After having kids, I was able to return to my Fine Art roots. Since that time I have been a working artist in fiber, ceramic and mixed media. I have participated in Marin Open Studios for the last 22 years and I exhibit my work locally, nationally and internationally. My work is included in the Kamm Teapot Foundation and private collections in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York and Australia.
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Graham Life is so precious. Through my art, I hope to convey my deep appreciation for the “life force” and I invite the viewer to share in the wonder I experience as an artist and protector of life in all forms. That “quickening,” that “life force” is a constant energy that surges through my veins and sparks my creativity. I am a creative; an artist, a dancer, a mother. I make art because I must. An interesting concept, an unusual form, or a sudden vision can steal me from my duties or awaken me from my dreams. My interests in preserving the environment and promoting social justice frequently drive the message of my artwork. My pieces often begin with a visceral response to an act of injustice or the destruction of our natural world and explode into social commentary. In the mid 1980’s, I passionately explored the ancient Japanese tradition of handmade paper. I was attracted to the use of natural fibers, water, and elements that promote fibrous interaction to ultimately produce a thing of beauty. Ten years later, I embraced the challenge of creating beauty and complexity from other materials that were raw and simple. This inspired me to explore a variety of media from transformed fabric and knotless netting, to repurposed, reclaimed, and reimagined materials. Then in 2009, life changes propelled me to become passionate about felting wool. As in making paper, felting wool transforms natural fibers through the use of water and fibrous interaction. By employing wet and dry techniques, laminating gauzy silks to the wool fibers, inlaying embellishments, and blending colored fleece, I create painterly fabrics, unique wall art, and exciting three-dimensional forms. As an Obstetrical nurse for four decades, I was entrusted with guiding women in the most awe-inspiring form of creation. Similar to assisiting the labor process, felting requires strength, calculation, patience, and a sensitive connection to the subtle transformation of the material. The fact that I am passionately attracted to the tactile, rhythmic, spiritual, water-dependent nature of my professions as a nurse and as an artist does not escape me.
