About Mel Anderson

Photograph by Liz Ham - Mel on Dangar Island

Photo by Liz Ham

A little bit about me ... I am a cross-disciplinary Visual Artist and Teacher working across ceramics, photography, cyanotypes, printmaking and digital mediums. Using process as my foundation, I follow my Heart and Hands to create Confessional Artworks heavily imbued with metaphor and symbolism. Stories flow in response to these visual artworks, allowing me to find the words to untangle the parts of myself needing attention.

Deeply personal and introspective, my arts practice is rooted in place as I seek to explore and discover myself and how I fit within this world. I work with found materials to weave Allegorical Stories, giving voice to my unconscious through visual narratives. My focus is on Storytelling through Creative Play - a tool for self-reflection and introspection as I seek to discover my Best True Nature in an Adventure of imagination, discovery and open-hearted curiosity.

My current body of work is a fragmentation of my photography into small, dense, confessional mixed media cyanotype artworks, heavily reliant on following instinct and stepping back to allow the language of my unconscious to flow.

EXHIBITIONS & AWARDS

PROJECTS & COMMUNITY

This little one finally found his way into existence today. Some stories take much longer than others and it takes time to tease out the words and the feelings. A mixed media cyanotype with cicada wings, turmeric and bubbles, I have drawn over the layers with ink, paint and glow in the dark additions. I will seal the layers and inks with a cold wax or a resin tomorrow when it is dry and I still need to write up the adventure ... but I am happy to rest here. The works I have produced are starting to tell a much larger story ... and so am I. #cyanotype #mixedmedia #bird

I had the great pleasure of hosting a 'test' Tiny Folk Workshop when I was at the Orange Work of Art Showcase. This was my first attempt at structuring and running a cut down version as a trial for a much larger project i am working on ... The Tiny Folk Travelling Show. So today I share one of the participant's work, Jumble (reimagined). Using the body parts I have made in the past workshop attendees built their own Tiny Folk and started imagining their stories. To read all about our beautiful Jumble, head to @tinyfolkadventures where I will be displaying the Tiny Folk stories as they evolve. I was humbled by the response to the workshop and the pure JOY attendees found in the making. Onward and upward! #tinyfolkadventures #sculpture #ceramics #wildclay #storytelling #regionalartsnsw

Raindrops after the sunshine. The bricks still hold onto the heat from two days ago and the house remains stuffy, but walking the island sanctuary I breathe in the cool air and take in this peace - apart from this one screeching corella. I could watch the rain fall for hours … if I could only escape the admin of my life. #edwardriver #deniliquin #rain

Is your bird still to be painted? Are you free to come and paint tomorrow, Saturday 23rd November between 10am-12pm or 1-3pm? I will be opening the Studio to paint the birds so feel free to drop in if you still need to paint - you know who you are. Message me to confirm you will be coming and when and I look forward to seeing you! #bird #ceramicbird #deniliquin #communitybirdgarden

Some of my recent works presented this week as part of a Showcase and Forum at the #WorkofArt in Orange. I have been blown away by the talented women I have met in person this week, after a year and a half of working intensely online and in small groups. There are so many exceptional women working in Regional NSW in the Creative Industries, thank you so much @regionalartsnsw for the opportunity to be part of this program. I am humbled by the quality of works, the exceptional professionalism and talent of the performers and, most of all, the kindness and support of these many wonderful women around me. Thank you.
#WOA24 #centralwestNSW #creativeindustries #womeninthearts

Hello all!! I just wanted to share a little video I made of my work for a presentation. Of course the video didn't work on the day but I spent a lot of time putting it together so I wanted to share it with you all. This is a little snapshot of my current work, I hope you enjoy it. #cyanotypes #ceramics #photography
#WorkofArt #WOA24 #OrangeNSW #womeninthearts

After 8 hours driving and what appears to be an obligatory pattern of anxiety attacks at the end of the process .... I have arrived in Orange for the Work of Art. This little one from Deniliquin, Perry, didn't quite make the trip unscathed and has had to be refurbished a little bit as his neck was broken in transit. He still looks a bit manky in the neck region but I guess I am too. I did, however, add some hope in the form of a beautiful flower ... or is it Brian the Cod? Happy Thursday! #orangensw #tinyfolkadventures

One more little addendum … I decided to play with some ceramic pencils and underglaze and I’m quite chuffed on how this has worked once fired with no clear glaze.

Lots of new heads, feet, boots and hands made with #deniliquin clay. Fired to 1200 degrees C, this clay develops a lovely sheen - a bit like a self-saucing pudding, the clay itself becomes shiny and an almost-glaze. So much fun making these pieces which will be part of a professional workshop in Orange. A big thank you to @regionalartsnsw for their Work of Art program and the opportunities it has given me to open doors working in the Arts in Regional NSW. I have connected with so many talented women working in Regional NSW and looking forward to ongoing collaborations, partnerships and inspiration! My workshop in #Orangensw will use these body parts and more to make-your-own Tiny Folk Advance Emissaries. I am working on a Tiny Folk Travelling Show project using Tiny Folk workshops in sculpture, ceramics and writing to link communities and share stories. #tinyfolkadventures #ceramics #deniliquin

The first Birds are glazed and out of the kiln. Ready to be fitted with some garden stakes or fallen sticks! #ceramics #bird #deniliquin #workshop #community

Apologies for the rogue foot in the dawn time-lapse, here are some photos from my weekend as the Sea Lake Astrofest at Lake Tyrell. So many wonderful speakers and photographers and such beauty in these salty vistas. I’m so fortunate to live near to many pink lakes and to be able to look up to such dark skies on very flat plains. I have learned to take photos of the stars and set up for Timelapse photography at night. I’m excited to play with this over summer but right now I’m desperately trying to find the story of my pechakucha … more to come on this in a dedicated post but I’m looking forward to being surrounded by amazingly talented and professional women working in the Arts across regional NSW at Orange in a week’s time. In the meantime … #pinklakes #sealake #laketyrell #saltpans

A reminder for those of you who have made a bird with me … I’m at the @harrypeppercoffee Night Markets tonight with your birds fired and ready to paint. Come along and paint your creation/s - there’s even some donated birds for lucky early arrivals to paint if they haven’t made their own. I’ve got 62 birds for our Community Bird Garden … help me make it to 100! #bird #birdgarden #ceramics #islandsanctuary #deniliquin #slowmaking #slowclay.

As part of my exhibition, I set up My Mother’s Typewriter with the invitation to co-create a story. These are some snippets of writing that appeared … I particularly love the hopes and dreams of a 12 year old as she tapped up the story of her life so far … and whoever it was who wrote ‘Mal … you are amazing’. High praise indeed! #exhibition #deniliquin #edwardriverartsociety

Last day! Open until 5:30pm today @edwardriverartsociety in the gallery … just sidestep the ghouls and ghosts to get through the door! As my exhibition @edwardriverartsociety comes to a close, I have started to think about my way forward. Like the labyrinth, I have been a bit stuck in a loop and it was extremely difficult to push through. I had stories to write but they needed some space within me to breathe. I did, however put up some writing today. On my last day. Next exhibition these most recent works will fully come to fruition.

Good morning! So many birds out this morning and I was pleasantly surprised by the light under the canopy. And by this beautiful, feathery, delicate and ephemeral nest. #islandsanctuary #deniliquin

Some ceramic friends from Saturday’s bird making workshop … and two actual Rainbow Bee Eaters from yesterday at Picnic Point. I love the character and variety of birds people with limited experience can create! These birds and more are slowly taking shape and will be part of the first Community art project I complete in #Deniliquin. Contact me if you would like to hear about upcoming workshops and ongoing classes working with clay. #ceramics #birds #clay #community

Following on from my Odyssey Exhibition last year, I have a new series of illustrated cyanotype artworks on display @edwardriverartsociety in their wonderful new gallery space. I am currently editing the stories for each of these little beauties, but I wanted to share this lovely work I have just photographed. This work is a great favourite of mine, partly due to the time it has taken me to find a stopping point. Partially completed for the Odyssey exhibition on Dangar Island in 2023, I put it aside for a time and finally feel it is complete. I love the promise of the future contained here, a Fish Out of Water following my Guiding Star despite the ominous and grasping elements attempting to pull me under. I am still Here and Hope is Returning. #cyanotype #edwardriverartsociety #deniliquin #2024 #exhibition

Workshops exhaust me, but I also love watching participants slowly sink into creativity for its own sake. Two bird workshops today, where participants designed a bird and made it in clay. Each bird as unique and special as the person who created it. #edwardriverartsociety #deniliquin #ceramics #clay #birds

Some gifts from the kiln …. Mud wasp nests, old tiles from wild clay and Dangar island mud, tiny folk body parts, beads and things to thread … I am loving the rush, rustic red of the Deniliquin (flood) clay fired to 1200 degrees. And particularly enamoured of the mud wasp nests from yesteryear … can you pick the single mud nest from sandstone country? #deniliquin #midfire #ceramics #exhibition

Exposing large fabric Cyanotypes (unwieldy in the wind and some more experience required!), measuring and drawing concentric circles for a floor labyrinth. Almost there but so much more to do … #exhibition #edwardriverartsociety #deniliquin #cyanotype #birdsnest

I’m preparing for an exhibition @edwardriverartsociety currently and have fallen in love with this new gallery space. I have been making small, dense, tightly packed narratives for the last two years, but I find myself working large and painting up cyanotype negatives to expose on fabric as last minute banners. The weather, the time sun hits my backyard and the challenges of large scale prints … the intensity of a deadline and the blank canvas of an old church gallery is very inspiring … I haven’t slept much this last week, I had forgotten how exhausting yet exhilarating this sleep deprived creativity can be. #deniliquin #edwardriverartsociety #cyanotype #exhibition

A few more images of the rising morning and the most beautiful light I have stumbled upon in quite some time. #wongawetlands

These are not double exposures, but they look like they are. Just two very different depths or the magic of reflection. I was travelling back from Albury in the early morning when I saw the mist rising from the Wonga Wetlands in Splitters Creek. I had to stop and was greeted by the most beautiful light and morning mist. I am not particularly a landscape photographer but I did love playing with over and underexposures of light this morning. Of layers within an image and a confusion of reality. And so many beautiful birds waking up the morning. #wongawetlands

Sometimes the light and the birds are all just 'right'. Even though they are washed out in the morning sun watching the day rise. I took a wrong turn yesterday morning and this is what I found ... beautiful! #roadtrip #cockatoo

Playing with some abstracts with the intention of communicating the crispness of the evening and the season as it shifts into spring. The bare branches here are heavy with buds and soon-to-be blossoms. Looking back as these images I am reminded of winter but not yet the promise of warmth ... #albury #landscapephotography #abstractphotography

Walking in the landscape I always see so much. My camera helps to frame and distill this great expanse and the brief glimpses of tiny movement help me focus in. #albury #littlebrownbird

This has got to be one of the most interesting photos I have taken in a while. Little Red-browed Firetails in Albury, captured as they took off ... those shadows ... that menace ... The only reason I took their photo is because I could see the flash of red but they are too fast and I am too blind to identify them without a camera to freeze and zoom. Cool hey?

Last night, at the Harry Peppers Night Markets, I facilitated a little ceramic bird making workshop. I was so impressed to see all the fabulous drawings and clay birds that happened! Seventeen little birds were made - what a lovely flock and such a fun night!

.pro-gallery-wix-wrapper {display: block !important;} .pro-gallery-wix-wrapper .gallery-item-container {opacity: 1 !important; display: block !important;}

About Mel Anderson

Photo by Liz Ham

Get in touch

​