Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Hopkins.
Hi Melanie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in the Mississippi River Delta with roots in Alabama and Western Tennessee. I recently hail from Los Angeles, where I began my art career. I moved to Henderson County, NC, in 2020 with my partner, Daniel. Together, we have been restoring a 19th-century brick building in the town center of East Flat Rock. My professional background is in television, where I was a videotape editor and graphics designer. As an editor, I would work with provided footage, arranging the shots to illustrate a story. College is like that. My first collages came from an idea to create handmade thank-you cards from Potpourri, which we were given as a wedding gift. I was hooked! After that, I made cards using handmade stamps and exotic papers. Eventually, I started to collage onto wood panels. I decided to take my hobby to the next level and studied at Barnsdall Art Center in Los Angeles and Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena. Our student art shows were the tipping point for me. Once I got unsolicited feedback in a safe environment, I took the challenge to answer a call for artists for the Jackalope Art Festival in Pasadena. I continued participating in the festival circuit for the next several years, including the One Of A Kind show in Chicago in 2023. Once I got my creative routine back in my new EFR studio, I joined the Art League of Henderson County, which helped me find my direction. As a member, I could hang my collages at group shows. I also joined other area artists in the Art League’s open studio tour. Through this open house event, I met many of my lovely neighbors who were curious about the couple who had bought that old abandoned building. Last year, in 2023, I was accepted to show in The Gallery at Flat Rock’s annual Art in Bloom event. I was so honored to share space with such talented people. After this experience, I joined the Gallery at Flat Rock’s diverse collection.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
During the first year, Daniel and I worked on our East Flat Rock building almost daily, so I needed more time for art. Finally, in July of ’21, we moved into the upstairs flat we constructed, but it took some time to get my studio set up. It’s a work in progress, but we hope to have a place where people can come to share in our creative journey.
Thanks for sharing that. Please tell us more about your work.
I create mixed media collages on panels using salvaged ephemera, vintage magazines, and exotic papers. My stripes and skies compositions are unique in that every piece has been curated from a different source and can never be repeated. They are coated with epoxy resin and framed using 19th-century wood salvaged from our building. My collages give new life to discarded materials. I enjoy collecting images and textures from vintage and modern magazines, books, catalogs, exotic paper, fabric, found objects, and various ephemera and creating something new and long-lasting. Sometimes, an image will speak to me, and then the hunt begins for other items that will fit together with it. I enjoy the challenge of searching the massive periodical collection in my studio for just the right colors and patterns. I can spend weeks collecting images for a new collage. I rearrange the collected fragments until they feel right, sometimes ripping them apart and then reassembling them. Like puzzles, I discover different pieces that together tell a visual story. From an average viewing distance, one can see the shape and color of my collage panels. However, on closer inspection, they can see the details of every torn or cut piece of material. It could be a bird flying in a cloudy European sky or a geometric pattern from a vintage linoleum floor. I want to convey that there is beauty all around us if we look closely enough. I’m very proud to be a part of The Gallery of Flat Rock’s program. I’m also excited to be accepted to ArtFields’ 2024 Art Competition and Festival in Lake City, SC where ‘Chasing Dawn’ will be displayed in the Lake City Chamber of Commerce.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the strong sense of community in Henderson County. I’m finding there is a lot of support for local art. East Flat Rock is a diamond in the rough. We’ve discovered so much creativity here, from woodworking to paper marbling; we even have a local art school! We hope our town square grows to become a unique destination spot. There are some challenges from EFR’s dated infrastructure. Here’s hoping for future improvements!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.melaniehopkins.com/
- Instagram: @melaniehopkinsart
Image Credits
Daniel Hopkins
