Barbara Rizza Mellin

Artist Bio

Barbara Mellin is an award-winning writer and artist who relocated from the Boston area several years ago. She holds a graduate degree in Art History from Harvard University and writes about art and culture for local, national, and international publications. She taught Studio Art, Art History and Writing at Middlesex Community College (MA); was founder/editor-in-chief of Arts Around Boston magazine; and Teaching Director of the Young Artist Studio (MA) for more than 25 years. She and her husband live in Winston Salem, where she creates in her home studio with a small press (SouthHouse Studio). She has been a member of several professional organizations including Printmakers of North Carolina, Women Painters of the Southeast, Oil Painters of America, Local Arts Groups: AAWS, AFAS, MRAA, Winston Salem Writers, and the International Mezzotint Society.

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Artist Statement

Printmaking and Asian Brush Painting are my current passions.

Printmaking: I am continually fascinated with the role of printmaking in the art world from the monochromatic etchings of the Renaissance and the mezzotints of Baroque, to the boldly carved lines of the German Expressionist, to the multicolored Japanese woodblocks and white-line prints of the Provincetown Printmakers of the last century to the multiple variations and spontaneity of monotypes in the contemporary print world. But it is the process as much as the product that draws me to printmaking. There is a physicality to creating each print, whether it is scribing lines into copper plates or carving away a linocut matrix before layers of ink or color can be added. It is carefully registering the plate and paper for printing by hand or working the press and pressure to pull a print to completion. As with no other art process, it is rather like a magic show to see the final reveal, as the paper lifts off the print substrate and an image appears.

Asian Brush Painting (Watercolor/Ink): What I love about Asian Brush Painting is the simple elegance of the natural subjects, plus the real and apparent spontaneity of the process. Less is more. A few strokes can capture the beauty of a blossom or the fragility of a falling leaf. The works combine elements of watercolor paintings and calligraphic line drawings, and, yet, have their own unique look and style. As an art historian, I love preserving and reinterpreting classic techniques for contemporary audiences, using non-toxic materials.

Exhibitions

Her work has been exhibited in juried group shows throughout the U. S and internationally online, including High Point U, TAG,  Davison Community College (Thomasville), Salem College, Delta Art Museum (NC), Houston Bicycle Museum (TX),Mt. Dora Art Center, (FL), Blue Line Gallery (CA), Whistler House Museum (MA), Cape Cod Art, and the Attleboro Museum (MA). 

She has had several one-woman exhibitions, including at Duke University, Alamance Arts Council Galleries (Graham and Mebane), Hiddenite Arts and Heritage Center, Red Dog Gallery and Studio 7 (Winston-Salem), Central Piedmont Community College (Charlotte, NC), Cary Arts Council, Raleigh Library (Arts Council) and Forsyth Central Library (Winston-Salem).

She received the ArtPop/Arts Council Award (2017/18) placing her art on Billboards in Forsyth County.

Her print-based college series, Freewheelin’ was displayed in the Main Terminal at PTI Airport, Greensboro. (2018/19)

Past Artworks Gallery Exhibits:
2018 Summer Solace (Asian Brush Paintings)
2019 Ciao! Italy (Prints and Paintings)
2020 Freewheelin’ (Print-based photo collages)

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