New Studio

I am super excited to announce the opening of my new studio space in Tempe, AZ.  After leaving my long term relationship with Club Tattoo in order to have better balance in my life (while residing in Arizona), I was humbly offered a few opportunities and knew that just being on my own would be the best decision. It is a private studio, appointment only. All inquiries please continue to fill out the contact sheet.

b.a.l.a.n.c.e.

Balance. I am always striving for the most perfect balance within my life for the things and places I love. Most times, I find I just dont have enough time for everything…  with a demanding tattoo schedule, I didn’t have time for much else. So in the last 2 months, I have made time. First thing I had to leave a demanding shop atmosphere, signed up for a few art classes, and did some traveling to Colorado in June, New Jersey to see my family and do some tattooing at Timeless  in July, followed by going down to Florida’s Key West to spend some time with my best friend.  My first vacation in years, without my tattoo equipment! It was a fun few weeks… I love banyan trees, and they are all over Florida… here’s a photo I took across from Ernest Hemingway’s house in Key West.

Past, Present & Future

Well my trip to Australia was super fun and amazing. It was filled with great times with friends, seeing new sights, eating amazing meals, and of course doing some fun tattoos at the Rites of Passage and then followed Hell City in Ohio. Alwasy a great show as well put one by Durb Morrison. It was the 10th anniversary of Hell City, cant wait til  next year 2013 back here in Phoenix! Now it is in the past with a ton of fantastic memories to hold on to, while presently working at the shop here in Scottsdale Az.  I am in the middle of planning my trip to New Jersey in July then Florida immediately following. June is booked for Colorado, but dont worry, I will be back there for September, for a week before and after the Paradise Gathering! I am so looking forward to Paradise, it is located at the Keystone Convention Center, September 13, 14, 15, & 16… IF you are in the area you have to visit! It is going to be a special one for me and I am really looking forward to this event, DONT MISS IT !!!

I will be taking so much time out of the shop here in Scottsdale, however I’ll continue to consult during my off time scattered  throughout  July, August and September.  During this time I will be very selective of what I am working on so please dont be offended if I am unable to get you in…  I can only take on so much. Also, signing up for art classes this summer, starting the first week of June is my ceramics class, at the amazing Mesa Art’s Center and another oil workshop at the Arts center of Scottsdale. Taking the time to branch out in other mediums of art is so fundamental in every way for me, that I am welling to step back from my busy schedule and focus on taking time to concentrate on channeling my creativity with help an instructional atmosphere.  Email me with any questions, booking info and thought 😉  artbymelis@gmail.com   stay tuned to my travel page and updates here! xo

Aussiland to Hell City

Looking forward to next months travels… Rites of Passage Festival in Melbourne Australia in April, and Hell City in Columbus Ohio May 4, 5, & 6. I am looking forward to visiting Australia once again and this will be Hell City’s 10 year anniversary! I currently have one day available for Hell CIty if interested…. fill out the contact form please. Please be aware, not all inquires can be considered under the circumstances of travel, so please no coverup’s, fix up’s or work around preexisting pieces. Thank you!! <3

Another Trip to Breckenridge

 

Well what can I say about Breckenridge… I love riding this mountain especially with some good friends… The snow is kind of hard to find this year, the opposite of what we had all experienced last winter. However, with one decent storm that rolled through a few days into my trip made for some well needed turns.  As always my trip to Godspeed is busy with work. I had  my regular’s booked for work on their in-progress pieces and a few old familiar faces getting in on this visit too. I also had the honor of being a guest in Frisco Elementary Schools 5th grade class hosted by their teacher Peder Hansen. This was my second visit to Peder’s class with this year being a new group of kids. This year we were not only focusing on the process of creating but also tattooing as a career(with parental consent).

I wanted to share this with you all because it is so rewarding to me to take a few hours out of my day and lead the class with a still life study. We discussed the definition of Art in an interactive discussion comparing all mediums to create, as well as the process of creating, from inspiration, to preparation. I was so excited that Peder had purchased sketch books for all the kids in the class so that they could all participate.  We talked about lighting/contrast and perspective, as well as basic things like how to hold a pencil when sketching, with drawing practices of rendering basic forms. I also mentioned to them how important a creative space is, how to go about making their work space creative, inspiring and free of distractions. We also worked with drawing from memory, using a few seconds of visually studying the still life then drawing it blindly. Second drawing study we focused on lighting and contrast, turning off the over head lights and using my prop lighting, taking into consideration of what is highlighted by the light and what is in the shadows. Pulling all things we talked about together for a final ‘masterpiece’.

They had such neat questions and answers when it came to talking about the difference between tattooing and painting. Now I know why they have a show titled “Are You Smarter Then A 5th Grader”!  I was excited to hear that the parents were open minded to the topic’s that we were covering that day in class. It is a shame that schools take out music and art classes, as I grew up in a creative environment, playing the violin from the 3rd grade through college because it was available to me, making wooden stoles in wood shop class, learned how to cook and bake in home economics class, sewing class and of course my art classes where I learned my first artistic love, ceramics. From summer camps to dancing school I grew up in an artistic creative community that is few and far between these days. It is nice to hear the students do participate in some form of music and art outside of their school, some students told me they played the drums at home, guitar, or worked on the potter wheel as well as making plaster masks… It is nice to hear that the parents have taken charge in the creative world of their children to help encourage them to create aside from the daily instructed lives in schools. It was an honor to be apart of Peder Hansen’s class, I hope that I made an impact on at least one student, inspiring them to use the tools we discussed and remember the day that I taught them to use their creative outlets, to remind themselves to never worry about what others think because Art is a freedom of expression and an act of creating should never be judged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Stay tuned for next months trip to Whistler BC!! Should be a great snowboarding trip and I am tattooing as well, my first visit to Canada!