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About

Melissa Thorson, artist, sitting at a table in a tea room in Edinburgh, Scotland, drawing in a sketchbook
Melissa Thorson  VISUAL ARTIST

As an artist and maker, I am enchanted with the mystery and magic of the small things we encounter in our daily lives; as an art historian and scholar, I am always searching for the essence of things in their historical roots. These two perspectives meet in the time-honored discipline of drawing:  my artistic practice is grounded in drawing, not just for love of tradition, but because--as artists have recognized for centuries--drawing teaches us to truly see the things around us and touch their inner life.​

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In the spirit of childlike wonder, my drawings and watercolors explore the subtle magic of forgotten corners of everyday life, the secret universes that surround us everywhere, if only we could see.

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​My mixed media pieces use cutting, fraying, tracing, gluing, and stitching to relive the daily histories bound up in fabric and other everyday materials; the serendipitous joining of incongruous fragments offers a chance to create new beauty and meaning out of faded experiences, old hurts, treasured recollections, and long-cherished hopes.

photo: Laura Meek

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