Melissa Mariano

February to June 2020

Bio

Melissa was raised between Carlisle, MA, and the Bitter Root Vally, MT. She Lived in Baltimore MD while attending Art School. Melissa graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts Degree (BFA) in 2015. Passionate about building her business, and artistic vision, she supports herself, and the studio as a Gardener and an Elderly In-Home Care Provider. 

"I am a worker as well as an artist. I have had a job/s since the age of 12. I have worked in many different trades in hopes to pick up more skills for whatever life brings. I have worked in Child/Elderly Care, House Cleaning, Retail, Floral Design, Building Renovation, Interior House Painting, Furniture Restoration, Landscaping, and various odd jobs. In some way or another, all the work I experienced prepared me with the tools to approach my own vision of an ideal business."

Artist Statement

Through the combination of multiple media, I hope to guide my audience in finding their sense of self-worth. Art is a journey that is closely related to the realities of humanity—the ability to turn suffering into a greater capacity to love. I allow my intuition to guide my work to show a spirit and a voice that cannot be captured in one medium alone. By observing the world around me, I am able to create paintings, sculptures, and various music productions that show how we, as humans, can grow and learn. As my own views have grown, so has my art to reflect upon my own experiences and careful observations of the world.

My paintings and sculptures often focus on a perception of the world as viewed through fantasy settings. I want to provide my audience with a sense of solitude in viewing the world through my eyes. I create music video sets as well as produce music in hopes that my passion will become my career. My work is eclectic  and reflective, which gives it a unique quality that I hope my audience will be able to take an interest in and relate to. The main purpose of creating art is to allow viewers and listeners to not only see or hear my art, but to be immersed in a new version of the world they are surrounded by every day.

What I’m Doing at The Umbrella

During my time so far at The Umbrella Arts Center, I have been developing sets to film videos for the music I have been producing. Over the past year I have been experimenting with small scale set building, and exploring a wide range of colors and textures to make original landscapes. To finish off my time at The Umbrella, I will be filming myself on a green screen in order to place myself into the miniature landscapes.