Meet Melanie Curry

We recently connected with Melanie Curry and have shared our conversation below.

Melanie, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

I am an artist! I’ve always wanted to be an artist. My earliest memories are about discovering or creating art.

Tagging alongside my mother in the grocery store, I remember begging and pleading for the giant box of crayons or the beginner set of watercolors with brushes. My cash-strapped mother would shake her head and push on. But when we got home, she’d set up a few, small Dixie cups with water, each with drops of food coloring, and hand me an old, much loved, and battered paintbrush. Then I would ‘paint’…On the backside of envelopes or other scraps of paper, I’d paint wherever I could find a usable space, and I was delighted to share my faint masterpieces with anyone who would hold still long enough to look!

I would stand at my mother’s knee while she sewed and beg her to show me how to draw a horse. Having grown up around horses, she knew them from front to back and would show me not just how to draw them but taught me their anatomy as well. “This is a knee shaped like this to allow the leg to move like this. The ears can move forward and backward to catch sounds and to show interest or fear.” I was enthralled. I would draw, and she would critique, and I would learn.

My teacher introduced us to Art Fridays in the third and fourth grades. We indulged in an art project in new-to-us mediums and techniques every Friday afternoon. Mosaics, felt, DIY glue, and clay. I absorbed it all, and I was in heaven! The finished pieces were displayed along the classrooms’ windowsill before we were allowed to take them home. A few of the teacher’s favorites stayed on display, and mine almost always remained in the mix. I remember her telling me several times that I would be an artist someday and not let anyone take that away.

Other than community college classes in Architectural Design and Technical Illustration, I had no formal training in art. An occasional class or workshop with professional artists was the closest I came, but I paid close attention to what they were teaching and gleaned so much knowledge from them. One teacher with the Audubon Society took us out on a plein air trip to the forest to paint. She taught us a very important lesson about observation. “We will never get the scene that we want if we are always looking at our painting and painting what we think should be there. We should observe the light and shadows and how the greens change to almost black and back to nearly white. Draw and paint what you see; your work will always be good.”

My early confidence in my abilities and self-esteem came from the inspiration of my teachers. I still remember the lessons I learned from them, and I always look forward to learning something new.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

After a forced, early retirement in my 30s because of a Leukemia diagnosis, I allowed myself some time to recover and then dove into creating. It was the best therapy I could have offered myself!

I took watercolor classes and explored colored pencils and pastels. I joined art guilds, participated in outdoor art fairs, and took more classes. I’ve been lucky enough to be featured in galleries, art publications, and books, and steady, word-of-mouth commissions have kept me comfortably busy. Going from being creative on demand as a graphic artist to creating art for myself and others was the life of an artist I’d always imagined for myself.

I can effortlessly transition between different mediums, regardless of any lengthy pauses. My creative work showcases the extensive insights I’ve gained from working across various mediums for decades.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Don’t be afraid to try new things! Even if you discover that they aren’t your cup of tea, the knowledge you gain will be invaluable.

2. Be in charge of your life. If you want to be an artist, engineer, accountant, or plumber, do what it takes to become what you want. Take the classes. Apply for apprenticeship positions. Put yourself and your talents out there by visiting guilds or unions or sit down for a cup of coffee to pick the brain of someone in your chosen field. When you do the things you love, you’ll find and open the doors to success.

3. Become well-rounded. This is a nod to number one, about trying new things that are separate from your passion. Everyone needs a hobby or individual interest to draw inspiration and outside energy.

And one more thing. Be grateful for your talents and use them to advance yourself and others by volunteering for a cause. More inspiration will follow.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

While in recovery from the Bone Marrow Transplant I received in 1994, I discovered the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, published in 1992

I’m not usually a fan of self-help books, but this one drew me in—maybe it was just the book’s name! I was definitely on a healing journey, and I needed fresh energy to boost my stagnant creativity. I arranged for a small group of women to come to my house and go through the 12-week journey with me, hoping it would be easier with support from like-minded creatives.

As we went through each prompt, the one that made me sit back in my chair was, “Call yourself an Artist.” I had been drawing, painting, and even doing some art shows, but to call myself an artist? “But, I don’t have an art degree. I’ve only taken community education classes in art. I still work part-time! My easel is set up in a spare bedroom! I’m not an artist. I’m an imposter!”

And then, I did the exercise. I start introducing myself as an artist. I was mortified! I was self-conscious. What would people think? I felt self-centered and just a little bit uppity. But I kept it up, and it took a while, but it became easier each time. People were interested in me in ways that had never happened before. They asked me questions about my work and where they could see it. Not one person asked for my pedigree. And they genuinely enjoyed my work.

So, my advice? Don’t put yourself down when you get complimented on your talents. Say, thank you very much.
Get out of your way and stop putting up imaginary obstacles.

I’m Melanie Curry, and I’m an artist!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.paperartwarrior.com
• Other: mcurryart@gmail.com
  https://canvasrebel.com/meet-melanie-curry
  Collage to the Rescue by Wendy Tigerman on Amazon.com