Wearable Art - Stylish and Sensational Against YOUR Skin
Perhaps it’s stating the obvious, but it seems to me that a person is an artist not because they’re good at drawing or painting or carving but because they see things differently than non-artists. I’ve noticed that artists are usually talented in more than one medium for the reason that they have the knack for seeing what makes an object distinctive and pleasing to the eyes of others. Mel (short for Melissa) Donnelly is one of those blessed with the gift of seeing distinctively. This is what makes her a Greeneville artist/neighbor you should get to know.
I first became acquainted with Mel Donnelly because she is also a Nashville native who relocated to Greeneville, in her case in 2001 when her spouse Dom became Tusculum College’s sports information director. I soon learned there was far more to appreciate about her than the affinity of ex-patriots from the same hometown. When she asked for company while spackling and painting the dining room of their new house, two things became instantly clear. First, that she wanted company, not help, while working to create the desired look for the room. Second was that the richly elegant appearance of the finished room was one she’d visualized in her head before ever touching spackle to plaster. “My Grandfather Curran, who painted every object and surface he could get his hands on, taught me about color and texture,” she says. “My daddy is the same way. I prefer to do the work myself because I think people who have this visual ability also have a hard time explaining the ‘look’ they want to someone else.”
This same knack is shared by gallery director James-Ben Stockton, who recognized a kindred spirit in Mel Donnelly, and claimed her knitted scarves and shawls for his gallery “because they’re far more than accessories – they’re luxurious,hand-knitted, art wear in sensuous yarns, fabulous colors and textures -- genuinely wearable art.” Mel took up knitting under the tutelage of local expert Peggy Moore only after moving to Greeneville. The craft soon proved to have a stronger attraction for her than she’d imagined. “I guess it had always bothered me that people don’t make things with their own hands anymore. The knitting became so pleasurably relaxing and meditative that I enjoyed it just for itself. Besides, good quality natural fibers, like soy wool blends or organic cotton, just seem to do the work for you.”
Mel’s dedication to wearable art has, not surprisingly, led her into the design and creation of jewelry as well. For a time she focused on lampworking, the making of individual glass beads using a torch, colored glass rods, and her own talent for color combination. Currently she produces pendants, bracelets, and earrings through the combination of eclectic beads, with a decided preference for Swarovski crystals, natural gemstones, and, especially, pearls. “Pearls have been my favorite since I was a little girl,” she says. In jewelry production, her favorite technique is bead crocheting because of its tactile connection to her love of knitting. “To me, the jewelry isn’t pretty until it’s worn. My enjoyment of it isn’t complete until it’s out of my house and making the person wearing it feel stunning.” In working with two different forms of wearable art, the distinction for Mel seems to be a matter of time and touch. “Usually it takes a lot less time to make a necklace or earring set than it does to knit a scarf or shawl,” she notes. “Maybe that’s why my satisfaction with the jewelry needs someone else to own it, wear it, and love it for the process to be complete.”
Her knitting, however, is a bird of a different stripe. “Jewelry components don’t amuse me the way yarn does. I suppose I take more basic pleasure from the feel of yarn than from beads and wire. Before I commit to knitting I need to know the yarn will feel good in my hands.” For this reason, Mel avoids acrylic in favor of natural fibers. She listens to audio books while knitting because she finds music to be distracting from the visual element of her artistry. Her color sense is never far removed from her process. “For some reason, in both yarn and jewelry, I choose colors that are not what I would usually wear.” This gives her the freedom to be spontaneous in her selections. “You can’t have a bad time in a yarn store,” she says. “When I go in, the first thing I do is walk through and react to the colors and the layout. Then I go back and feel the yarn before choosing.”
This Christmas season, Mel’s wearable art has the added charm of being, for its creator, both an example of her personality and an old friend revisited. “I spent two years finishing graduate school and had to focus on studying,” she says. “Knitting felt frivolous--like something I should feel guilty about.” She is now the marketing and membership director for the Greeneville YMCA and feels more freedom to indulge her creative self. “I want to learn how to do lace knitting and, believe it or not, since I focus on wearable art, I want to learn how to knit socks. For me that represents knitting for my pleasure.”
For me, in writing this tribute, the pleasure is in featuring someone with such style, relentless focus, and sophisticated perception. Since I don’t wear scarves, I’m holding out hope for a pair of the socks. For once in my life my feet would be enshrined in high fashion.
Mel Donnelly’s wearable art, in both fiber and jewelry, is locally available, proudly displayed, and surreptitiously touched at James-Ben: Studio and Gallery Art Center.
Perhaps it’s stating the obvious, but it seems to me that a person is an artist not because they’re good at drawing or painting or carving but because they see things differently than non-artists. I’ve noticed that artists are usually talented in more than one medium for the reason that they have the knack for seeing what makes an object distinctive and pleasing to the eyes of others. Mel (short for Melissa) Donnelly is one of those blessed with the gift of seeing distinctively. This is what makes her a Greeneville artist/neighbor you should get to know.
I first became acquainted with Mel Donnelly because she is also a Nashville native who relocated to Greeneville, in her case in 2001 when her spouse Dom became Tusculum College’s sports information director. I soon learned there was far more to appreciate about her than the affinity of ex-patriots from the same hometown. When she asked for company while spackling and painting the dining room of their new house, two things became instantly clear. First, that she wanted company, not help, while working to create the desired look for the room. Second was that the richly elegant appearance of the finished room was one she’d visualized in her head before ever touching spackle to plaster. “My Grandfather Curran, who painted every object and surface he could get his hands on, taught me about color and texture,” she says. “My daddy is the same way. I prefer to do the work myself because I think people who have this visual ability also have a hard time explaining the ‘look’ they want to someone else.”
This same knack is shared by gallery director James-Ben Stockton, who recognized a kindred spirit in Mel Donnelly, and claimed her knitted scarves and shawls for his gallery “because they’re far more than accessories – they’re luxurious,hand-knitted, art wear in sensuous yarns, fabulous colors and textures -- genuinely wearable art.” Mel took up knitting under the tutelage of local expert Peggy Moore only after moving to Greeneville. The craft soon proved to have a stronger attraction for her than she’d imagined. “I guess it had always bothered me that people don’t make things with their own hands anymore. The knitting became so pleasurably relaxing and meditative that I enjoyed it just for itself. Besides, good quality natural fibers, like soy wool blends or organic cotton, just seem to do the work for you.”
Mel’s dedication to wearable art has, not surprisingly, led her into the design and creation of jewelry as well. For a time she focused on lampworking, the making of individual glass beads using a torch, colored glass rods, and her own talent for color combination. Currently she produces pendants, bracelets, and earrings through the combination of eclectic beads, with a decided preference for Swarovski crystals, natural gemstones, and, especially, pearls. “Pearls have been my favorite since I was a little girl,” she says. In jewelry production, her favorite technique is bead crocheting because of its tactile connection to her love of knitting. “To me, the jewelry isn’t pretty until it’s worn. My enjoyment of it isn’t complete until it’s out of my house and making the person wearing it feel stunning.” In working with two different forms of wearable art, the distinction for Mel seems to be a matter of time and touch. “Usually it takes a lot less time to make a necklace or earring set than it does to knit a scarf or shawl,” she notes. “Maybe that’s why my satisfaction with the jewelry needs someone else to own it, wear it, and love it for the process to be complete.”
Her knitting, however, is a bird of a different stripe. “Jewelry components don’t amuse me the way yarn does. I suppose I take more basic pleasure from the feel of yarn than from beads and wire. Before I commit to knitting I need to know the yarn will feel good in my hands.” For this reason, Mel avoids acrylic in favor of natural fibers. She listens to audio books while knitting because she finds music to be distracting from the visual element of her artistry. Her color sense is never far removed from her process. “For some reason, in both yarn and jewelry, I choose colors that are not what I would usually wear.” This gives her the freedom to be spontaneous in her selections. “You can’t have a bad time in a yarn store,” she says. “When I go in, the first thing I do is walk through and react to the colors and the layout. Then I go back and feel the yarn before choosing.”
This Christmas season, Mel’s wearable art has the added charm of being, for its creator, both an example of her personality and an old friend revisited. “I spent two years finishing graduate school and had to focus on studying,” she says. “Knitting felt frivolous--like something I should feel guilty about.” She is now the marketing and membership director for the Greeneville YMCA and feels more freedom to indulge her creative self. “I want to learn how to do lace knitting and, believe it or not, since I focus on wearable art, I want to learn how to knit socks. For me that represents knitting for my pleasure.”
For me, in writing this tribute, the pleasure is in featuring someone with such style, relentless focus, and sophisticated perception. Since I don’t wear scarves, I’m holding out hope for a pair of the socks. For once in my life my feet would be enshrined in high fashion.
Mel Donnelly’s wearable art, in both fiber and jewelry, is locally available, proudly displayed, and surreptitiously touched at James-Ben: Studio and Gallery Art Center.
No comments:
Post a Comment