Author Archives: Melanie
Why owl, why?
What do you want me to learn? Twice, within a span of ten days, in the exact same spot, a barn owl or a barred owl nearly flew into the windscreen of my car on my drive home from … Continue reading
Patience is Everything, Rilke
In 2010, my friend Tara O’Brien and I gave a workshop on Japanese Binding at the Philadelphia SGC Conference. Check out our handout to learn more: SGC Handout_Japanese Stap Binding We posed a number of questions and comments for those … Continue reading
Happiness Comes in Waves
From January 1995-August 1997 I lived on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean as a Peace Corps Volunteer. My job? Art teacher in a little town called Cayon. When I wasn’t teaching, I was doing something outside. It … Continue reading
Ladders
A couple of summers ago, I went to Jiminy Peak’s Aerial Adventure Park to try the High Ropes Course. It’s divided by level, levels that parallel the categorizing of skiing. Green = Easy. Black = Difficult. It was fun, scary, … Continue reading
The Emerson Book
When I was in graduate school in Philadelphia, my work became completed centered on trees and nature. I created tree rubbings, books about trees, paintings focused on rocks, and other things. I read Thoreau and Emerson and dreamed about the … Continue reading
Ruth Laxson. Biking. Rilke.
I just returned from 10 glorious days south of the Mason-Dixon Line in sunny Georgia. Doug and I drove the 1000+ miles with our bicycles through snowstorms for a week of incredible mountain biking at Mulberry Gap in the Georgia … Continue reading
Eye-candy exhibits that I want to see this year
But alas, it will be impossible to see some of them, due to their location and timing. Still, at least I can vicariously see some of them through catalogs and websites. And I can’t wait. Ruth Laxson, Hip Young Owl, … Continue reading
Vocation
Part of my work as a college professor involves preparing students to graduate. How do you prepare an art major to enter today’s job market? There’s no easy path. Art education has a bit more definition, as does arts management, … Continue reading
Love Song
How shall I hold my soul to not intrude upon yours? How shall I lift it beyond you to … Continue reading