You know, I honestly expected this to be a slow and drowning school year- I couldn’t have been more wrong. Just as soon as it had started, it’s over just like that. Looking back, I know it was a long journey because I can’t even begin to lay out all of the things I have learned not only about myself but about the world around me. This has been a very enlightening couple of years, I must say. Between my studies at Quartz Mountain and being here at the Memphis College of Art… wow. It’s almost unbelievable, really it is. I have met some amazing and talented people that I don’t think I could continue living my life had I of never met them. You all make the world meaningful to me again and I would just like to give myself a few moments to properly thank you. I haven’t felt this rejuvenated in a long time. I’d like to thank Brendan and Mabry Agnew along with the entirety of the AOA. You guys make an amazing support group for insignificant people such as myself and you built them up until they can take on the world. I’d like to thank Jessie Smith, Patrick Reames, Caitlin Smith, Jhake Eppenstein, Royce Strider, Amy Erickson, Kayla Crass, Aaron Radney and so many more of my close friends and family. I would also like to thank my own little piece of Sunshine and my proof that the higher powers haven’t really forgotten about me- John Storm. We’ve been through a lot, Mr. Storm. Thanks for riding the waves with me and keeping me from crashing to shore too hard.
Anyway, now that that has been said:
I am going to be keeping a better schedule of keeping this site updated…. for once. I’m also thinking of helping out some friends or local artists by promoting their works onto my website for a while. I’ll probably charge by the month just so I can keep up paying for this site until my finances get stable again.
I move back to Norman on May 8th and I hope to see you all soon. I’ll keep you posted!
-Melissa
Published by Ravens_n_flutterbies July 9th, 2008
in Uncategorized.
I don’t think I could express how happy I am that my high school career is finally over. Though there are things that I will miss, I am glad to not have so much holding me back any longer [ie AP testing, useless busy-work, stress over whether or not I will get into a decent art college, etc…]
On top of all that, I was able to attend the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute and clear my head for a little while.
It really was amazing… just being able to sit at the top of the Quartz Mountains and enjoy the Oklahoma desert. It has been a place of inspiration, blood, sweat and a few tears. The experience will never cease to be within my minds eye and I hope everyone who attended it with me has had equal an experience.
Well… off to the college world. I got accepted to the Memphis College of Art and this will be my first time living on my own and being so very far away from home. I have Audra Urquhart to thank for my acceptance. She saw how my face lit up when MCA came to my high school and gave their presentation. She had been spending a lot of time e-mailing and sending in every good word she could about my work and about how hard I study. I was angry at first, but I owe a lot to her.
Wish me luck and blessed be.
-Melissa
Published by Ravens_n_flutterbies September 15th, 2007
in Uncategorized.
The concentration section of the AP portfolio has to be the hardest. The Bredth section isn’t that challenging as long as you’re willing to expand your artistic ability and are able to successfully experiment with various techniques and compositional ideas. The concentration is so bloody hard because you can’t ever really decide fully on what you want it to be…You’re lucky if you can come up with a concentration and stick with it for so long and not get irritated or bored with it before all is said and done. But that is what makes a good concentration. You need to make sure that you believe in the statements you are making and have confidence that you can stick through it.
Mine, of course is merging human figures with various forms of nature. I’ve also added working with different light sources, shadows, foreshortening, and symbolic content.
Take “Raven’s Land” for example. It’s a self portrait with ravens, right? There is also a pretty powerful symbol (at least to me personally) in that picture. The people I showed it to told me that it made them sad and that it gave them an overwhelming sense of death. i can only assume that they came up with that because of the ravens and the use of the color green. If you look a little closer though, you can see that I’m actually smiling in the picture and I don’t think death is really something to smile about. From a magickal aspect, the raven represents a message and the exploration of the unknown. With that said, my self-portrait represents my artistic ability and my exploration through the various areas. the message comes from my own personal muse.
Some advise on concentrations: don’t limit yourself.
break it up into pieces and use various reference points and perspectives. That’s why my concentration isn’t only focused on human figures and nature, it also encompasses different spiritual aspects as well.
So, if you’re working on your AP portfolio or just a freelance artist who wants to start a series or concentration, feel free to take my advice and keep your work free flowing.
Lots of love,
-Melissa
Published by Ravens_n_flutterbies July 22nd, 2007
in Uncategorized.
I’ve actually managed to find three people with the same dreamy imagination as I do. One of them is my buddy Patrick whom I’ve known for nearly four years and is responsible for this site and taking care of all of my pictures as well as offering any inspirational insight he can. The other is my sister from a past life, Nikki and (more recently) my boyfriend John. These three people have managed to help me pull through and I suspect will always continue to do so.
Just thought I’d thank these people before I continued even further.
Published by Ravens_n_flutterbies June 9th, 2007
in Uncategorized.
It starts off very gray and everything around me seems ashy and frail. For some reason I’m wearing a large, heavy coat and I’m struggling to get out of a large body of water. The entire time I’m frantically swimming toward the surface and pulling rocks from in the deep pockets of the coat. it’s been bugging me for a while, but I’m pretty sure I know what it means.
My dreams got rather bizzare and surreal feeling over the past couple of months and they’ve just recently stopped. Now I’m dreaming about jumping higher than the trees and flying so high I almost can’t get myself down and everything is in vivid color. they’re more lively now, I must say.
Published by Ravens_n_flutterbies June 7th, 2007
in Uncategorized.
…and all the world around you feels like a never ending merry-go-round.
Ever been standing still and everything around you feels surreal and has an odd shade of blue and the ground below you seems to be moving? Almost as if you stepped into one of Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period paintings. Insomnia causes your equilibrium to go off balance and sends you falling in slow motion. You know the look. That single shot of a person’s face where they have a random look of euphoria about them that you only see at Ecstasy clubs or in Hollywood film…… That’s how it is with insomnia — a movie. All the worlds a movie and you always sit back and wonder how in the hell your life can be summed up in a two hour long film and be viewed by people of different minds for the price of an admission ticket.
I had a dream once… or a least I think I did. You never know with insomnia. because when you get into that state where you’re so bloody tired you can’t sleep, you aren’t really asleep and you aren’t really awake.
My dream was blue– Very much like the blue I described earlier. I was wandering aimlessly by the creek of my nightmares by my old apartment building. Since the world was in an endless blue filter, the yellowing concrete walls seemed gray and the green murky water was ink black. I made my way to the middle of one of the concrete bridges that overlooked the forbidden creek. As i stared into the water, I could feel my whole body become weightless- as if floating in water- and I could hear myself giving up. I didn’t care anymore. My existence was meaningless and breathing was becoming painful. As I continued to think this way, I began to notice a tingling sensation at my fingertips. I looked down and realized that I was slowly becoming transparent. At first, i was frightened but then my mind wandered and I was beginning to let go -embracing everything with an optimistic attitude. Then I heard something crash a short distance from were my transparent entity stood (more like hovered). It was a stout young boy who had fallen off of his bicycle. For a moment, he stayed where he had landed face first in the gravel and then shot up and grabbed at his knee. A substance similar to black ink was running down his leg and I can only assume that this was blood. I walked over to see what was the matter. The young boy looked up at me with pitiful looking eyes and asked for help. I smiled and leaned in to take care of his slight injury, but found that I couldn’t. Not only was I see-through, I couldn’t touch anything. My hands were going strait through everything. It was maddening! I tried desperately to help him but couldn’t seem to gain form. The relentless feeling of giving up was consuming my being, literally and I couldn’t do anything to prevent it. I clenched my eyes shut and screamed……… I awoke to color. All around me was green. The asphalt was graying and the red stains from the young boys fall littered the pavement. he asked once again for help and this time I could help him. I bandaged him up and the wiped the innocent crocodile tears from his mopey eyes and helped him back onto his bike. i said, “It never hurts to try.” and he smiled and rode away.
Then I woke up…. or maybe I realized that I was daydreaming and the people in the back of the line at Starbucks were growing impatient and it flung me back into reality…. whatever that is.
