Moves Like… Mel

I am a sweet tooth and love to bake! I enjoy roller skating and definitely feel like sometimes I’ve got all the gear and no idea, but it is a great way to move your body and have fun. I also have the most supportive family and partner which I always strive to make proud. I also often have company when I’m working on new projects in the form of my little studio assist and side kick Marven. He’s a little instafamous!

I’m not sure if I have one? Maybe just that I’m a very ambitious person and can really stay focused once I find a goal I wish to achieve. I will often see ideas in my ‘minds eye’ and I can imagine them right through to completion.

Of course top of my list is the beautiful Tal Fitzpatrick who I am working with on this Threads of Belonging project! We instantly hit it off when we met and have a wide range of things we cross over on, but also a plethora of things we are constantly learning from each other too.

In terms of ‘art crushes’ I’d say the scale and team behind CJ Hendry’s work is absolute goals.

Also Rachel Burke and her mission to give glitter, craft and of course art to anyone and everyone is so inspiring. The list really could go on, but I’d have to also say that Audrey Montoya is another crush of mine – I just love her use of wool fiber materials and technique of dry needling her quirky characters. I’m so thrilled and grateful to have been able to collect work from each of these artists and I look forward to growing my collection further.

To always create and originate is to be authentic to myself and the way I move through the world. It came to me many years ago and stemmed from the meaning of the word ‘create’ is to bring something into existence. That’s what I always strive to do. Strive to offer something to the world that is original. I’m sure a lot of artists know that feeling of wanting to do that, so I hope I have achieved this and will continue to express new ideas and processes that inspire others to think and feel differently.

My initial thoughts, musings and ideas were all about becoming and belonging – because I always felt I didn’t belong. Whether that be on the Gold Coast, at school, with friends. I know what it feels like to not feel like you’ve found your people or your place in the world.

As my practice has evolved, I’ve made discoveries about myself and learnt more about the way I show up in the world. I feel I can now offer skills back to the community that might help someone feel less alone or more understood.

The process of finger-knitting to me is way more than twisting some yarn, it’s a therapeutic way of connecting, calming and opening up. So I hope to offer the opportunity along with Tal for people to experience this and learn something about themselves along the way.

I was always a bit shy of using text in my work, but it came to a point where it really was the best mode and clearest way to communicate what I was wanting to say. I think it challenges the audience to actually stop and be still and read amongst the visual texture and bold colours.

Even though I was shy about it, it did feel as though it came naturally. I jot things down as I go about my daily routines and record the attunement to my feelings and surroundings. I think it will be helpful for people to practise being present like this during this project and it will enable them to explore further how they what to show up in the world and what they feel sentimental about.

As a socially-engaged artist, I approach public engagement and community participation as a generative and transformative site for art/change-making. The wonderful thing about craft and people who make, mend, tinker, and create is how curious they are, how keen they are to try new things, and how generous they are in sharing their skills and experiences.

It is a community I am so glad to be a part of, and truly, one of the greatest privileges that come with being a craftivist is that I get to create spaces where crafty people can come together, make together, share their values, and make plans for a better future.

Many things move me and I place great focus on finding emotional movement in the smallest of moments, because they are often the ones that we so easily miss. Whether that be a nice smell or the trees in the breeze  or art of all forms or food textures and taste or treasured objects that are generational or handmade.

It’s through these moments of connection to one another that we can have shared experiences, that help us understand what it is to be human, and the basic needs we all require to exist, thrive and feel safe!

To me art is paramount in sustaining a healthy relationship with all facets, physically, socially, emotionally, and culturally. So I am extremely grateful and excited to be involved with Everybody NOW!