about
Melanie Thompson lives and works on Salt Spring Island and in a very small cottage at the Finn Slough on the Fraser River. She has practiced basketry for many years using traditional and non traditional materials. Melanie recently completed the Diploma in Fine Arts at ECUAD. This course work informed her design sensibilities and led to her mixed media work.
Melanie has exhibited and sold her work widely. Her work can be found at Crafthouse, Granville Island, BC, South Shore Gallery, Sooke, BC, and Artcraft, Salt Spring Island, BC. It can also be viewed at www.saltspringartistdirectory.com, www.craftcouncilbc.ca and on her blog http://craftymelanie.wordpress.com
artist statement
I am a multidisciplinary visual artist. My work is materials driven and that inspires my making. My approach is experimental. I work with natural and found materials. I manipulate the material to see what it is capable of. Everything is grist for the mill. I often obtain materials with no creation in mind, the process of working with the material in an exploratory way informs my decisions of what to make, what techniques to use, what form they will take. Materials also direct the concept behind the work which leads to large installations and collaborations with other artists.
My work is very often conceptual and multi layered. Working on installations in a conceptual manner affords me the opportunity to incorporate a variety of disciplines and techniques from basketry, stitching, collage, sculpture, print making, to encaustic and acrylic painting. I make one off pieces or multiple pieces for installations. My approach to creating is always with the question ‘What if…’?
