Covid Recovery, Crafting and a New Website: Mid-Month Update
After carefully avoiding it for more than two years, COVID finally caught me. So what have I been working on?
Creative Living Manifesto v 1.7
As I prepare to launch my updated site, I wanted to revisit my manifesto. I first wrote it about two years ago in a frantic scribble on receipt paper from the grocery store where I worked. Since then, I make it a point to write it on the first page of my notebooks and sketchbooks …
Still Desperate to Make Good Art
2020 Update: Every time this story comes back into my life, the distance and experiences I’ve gained change my perspective slightly, but it still inspires me. Through a combination of circumstance and practice I’ve learned that prioritizing your health, your sanity, your family, or other values holds just as much weight as the hustle of …
to produce flowers; bloom
I was born Melina Kathryn Taylor. My parents, perhaps as a symbol of their love, or maybe in just a spark of creativity decided to combine their names (Regina and Melvin) to christen their firstborn daughter. And at least they didn’t go with Regvin. My mom claims Kathryn should have been my first name. She …
Get Naughty With Art
Below is another old tumblr post of mine, this one from sometime in late October/early November 2015 on allowing yourself to learn from other artists. Nowadays we have trends like #inmystyle that actively encourage creators to imitate as a form of practice. Something I wish I felt comfortable with much sooner! This advice from fellow …
The Sampler
Ah, the sampler. It’s like sketching for needlework. Historically a sort of unofficial certificate of domestic prowess, samplers proved a young lady was a capable, hardworking, and accomplished seamstress who could adequately maintain her future household. Yet in recent years, textile museums and historians are beginning to value not only the skill of such works, …
Collecting Myself II
My study abroad in Lacoste, France was a huge turning point in my artistic journey. This was the first time in my life I had truly been immersed in the art world. Not only was I attending classes, museums, lectures, I was surround by an incredibly hard working and passionate group of peers devoted to …
Collecting Myself
Finally getting around to collecting my various web presences and personas into one place. Piecing together the quilt of my artistic journey and how I’ve shared it with the world over the years is an ongoing exercise in transparency and editing. I doubt that anyone is particularly proud of everything they’ve posted to the internet–especially …