mnartists.org: Mulysa Melco

Labyrinth-The Universe and Details

Mulysa Melco — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 05:45:39 GMT

This labyrinth was created for the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality and Healing in the summer of 2005. The project was coordinated by Horticulture Therapy Outreach coordinator Jeannie Larson, designed and painted by Mulysa Melco and implemented with the help of talented volunteers. It now travels between various outreach programs. It accommodates a small group of people walking it at the same time. The labyrinth is portable, made on a 25' x 25' piece of canvas that can be folded and stored and transported in a rolling plastic bin. The Universe and the Details is the theme of the work. The center shows the spiral of the galaxy, the deep blue waves and gold stars form the paths of the labyrinth. Each of the four corners represents a season/time of day/stage of life: Spring/Dawn- Children examine flowers under a budding tree, while bees and butterflies cavort overhead. Summer/Day- A colorful trout and a crow rest under a lush green tree. Dragonflies and cicadas circle in the sky. Autumn/Dusk- Under the changing leaves and a sky full of bats, a man and woman lie among mushrooms and ferns. Birds whisper to them as they fall asleep. Winter/Night- Fox and hare face each other amongst bare branches and swirling snowflakes. In the dark sky, the phases of the moon appear. In between these vignettes, smaller creatures of various orders are represented: rodents, reptiles, corals and mollusks, flowering and cone bearing plants, ferns, fungi, yeasts, bacteria and viruses.

image: in progress

image: Winter

image: Spring

image: Summer

image: autumn

Sleeping (Waiting)

Mulysa Melco — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 03:29:23 GMT

Intaglio and aquatint, 1999

Daily self-portrait, green

Mulysa Melco — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 03:25:28 GMT

Oil, 1999 This is from a series of daily studies I made while studying in Florence. They were intended to capture the mood of the day, and definitely reflect the influence of the city's pervasive art history.

Raphanus sativus

Mulysa Melco — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 22:31:09 GMT

Watercolor, 2004 The cultivated radish is a beautiful plant that, along with cabbage, broccoli, arugula, Brussels sprouts and others, belongs to the mustard family (Brassicaceae). This study was done in a class at the Minnesota School of Botanic Art.

London Fashion Study No.4

Mulysa Melco — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 06:35:38 GMT

Watercolor, 2005

London Fashion Study No.3

Mulysa Melco — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 06:14:41 GMT

Watercolor, 2005 9 in. x 12 in.

London Fashion Study No.2

Mulysa Melco — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 06:12:41 GMT

Watercolor, 2004

Plant Life No. 2: Honeysuckle

Mulysa Melco — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 03:54:55 GMT

Oil, drawing 2005

Plant Life No. 1: The daily movements of leaves

Mulysa Melco — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 03:53:12 GMT

Oil, watercolor, transfer and drawing, 2004 Sold

Garden plan - detail

Mulysa Melco — Wed, 22 Dec 2004 19:23:04 GMT

Oil and mixed media on masonite, 1998

Garden plan

Mulysa Melco — Wed, 22 Dec 2004 19:04:31 GMT

Oil and mixed media on masonite, 1998 This is the story of the evolution of my garden over its first four years. It's about the shape of the garden overall and the minute details and actions within it. I made it in art school as a response to an assignment about 'post-modern structure'. Despite that class, that professor and other things, it is my favorite painting I've made. After not painting for several years, it has become a point of departure for my recent paintings. The garden that was the subject of this work was such an important place to me- I learned so much there and it was a source of comfort and release through a lot of struggles. Where else can one find such peace (balance) but in a garden? After nine years of tending things there, I had to move on. That's what my new painting is about.

Monarch

Mulysa Melco — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 05:38:40 GMT

Watercolor and collage, 2003 Sold

Fioraio

Mulysa Melco — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 05:34:10 GMT

Watercolor, 1999 This is one of many little studies I made of items for sale at sidewalk flower shops in Florence. Eventually this imagery became the subject for a 48" x 48" silk batik foulard. One shop, instead of the usual pet cat, had two white mice.

Eve

Mulysa Melco — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 05:24:28 GMT

Cut paper, 2004 I made this while at Kew, I had in mind a woman who worked in the woodland garden and was about to move to a rural part of Spain, where she planned to rennovate an old mill to live in and make a garden.

Ortensia

Mulysa Melco — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 05:21:06 GMT

Botanical collage and watercolor, 2003