melissabanks_maker | Artist

melissabanks_maker

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• Public figure
• Artist
• Visual arts

18.01.2022 R U OK? Your loved ones and little folk, are they ok? Such an important question right now. Today & tomorrow & the day after. ... From my very Melbourne Metro centric viewpoint, every experience right now is heightened. In this lockdown holding pattern of waiting and surviving, a golden high can 100% set the tone of a day. Which also means that the straw that 'breaks the camels' back could just be a whisker in the contex of any other pre covid day. It is heavy down here. I know that probably sounds a bit vague to anyone across the border. But it's true. So true. Folks who I would call stoic, those who aren't known for speaking out and openly talking about their challenges are speaking up. I'm grateful every day for my people at the end of daily messages, phone calls and videos. And I'm equally really worried about our vulnerable community members. R U OK? @ruokday #itsoktonotbeok

17.01.2022 The moment the salt air hits my skin the internal shift is instant. A balm for the deepest aches. A place to sing out loud with all the joy of infinite possibility. The moment the tide meets the shore both are forever changed. ... Wild. Free. Energised. Building. Eroding. Ebbing. Flowing. I’ve walked these shores before. But never like this. The beach and I are never twice the same. - I've walked these shores before. They have arrived Please come on in and take a look around. The 'I've walked these shores before' collection of original paintings and my new (very first) website are live and ready for you. Yes, perhaps 'just another' website in the infinate sea that is the WWW.... But for me it is a resting place of art and beauty. A space for me and my work to be open and honest with you. A meandering glimpse into my creativity and studio. My website link is in the comments Please pop over and stay a while x

16.01.2022 Dawn. Noon. Dusk. I would love to be a dawn person. Start the day with the sunrise and a cuppa with the birds. Breathe in the morning sea mist. But I tend to see way too many midnights to fully embrace the dawn... I love loving dusk too.. but let's be real, in this season of my life dusk is all about baths and dinner and high end little folk negotiations. I see you though dusk, and your golden hour hurrah!... So it seems by default noon is my jam. Which is so fine. There's nothing wrong with the saturated colour beauty of noon. You can eat breakfast food. You can eat dinner food. And energy levels are generally still pretty good. Winning! I've been living and breathing my interpretation of these colour ways since April See my dawn, noon and dusk colour stories in both my upcoming beachscape and festive ornament collections. Link in my bio. Are you team dawn, noon or dusk?

15.01.2022 My daddy-o and the dada of my babes oh my heart. The men that inspire, teach and ground me Happy Father's Day xox I love you. We love you. So very thankful for you xox Big love to all the dads out there, in all the different ways the Dad title is interpreted. And extra love to those who can't call their dads to say 'I love you' today xox

14.01.2022 "What delicious mail to arrive home to! Thank-you for the home delivery. I am so excited about working with my Creator Co... it's going to be wonderful." Is that not the best "delivery received" message?! Some Creator Co. artwork parcels will travel more than 16,000kms... and some have been nurtured by me their whole 1km journey. ... I'm feeling quite chuffed over here thanks @growingbythemoon xo I hope the care and love I poured into these parcels pours back out again when they land safely in the hands of their first Creator. If you scroll and scroll across you can glimpse the Creator Co. underpaintings that are all en route to studios across Australia and Germany. Are you team pink ? Or team blue ? I love them both... but I'm 100% biased! Please support and follow the progress of these artworks and Creator musings at #creatorcoflow Ooh, I'm excited xox Big Love, MBx

12.01.2022 Sitting with a painting is like having a conversation with one of those special few people in your life who truly get you. You can be raw and honest. Speak aloud your wildest dreams and know you're in company that 100% want that for you too . It's a dance. ... A creative conversation. Add a little. Listen. Feel in flow. Respectfully disagree on aesthetics. Change directions. Listen. High five. Share a hot cuppa and indulge in 90s spottify playlists. No judgenent. Just possibility. Iso or not, tell me that isn't a golden way to spend some time. I'd love to share this process and gold with you. Creator Co. registrations are open now, untill 17th September. Link in my bio. 90s playlists are totally optional! See you in there? Creator Co. or not. I hope the weekend brings golden moments for you x MBx

11.01.2022 I loved him first I'll love him always He's almost 4 and tells me with all the confidence of a little person that he is NOT my baby anymore. He's a big boy! ... I know bub. You're a big boy. Feircely independent and heart meltingly sweet all at the same time. ...though, you WILL always be my baby. Sorry, not sorry, at all! Like our fellow stage 4 lockdown folk, we're really missing our family over here. There is so much little person growth that has been missed. Thank goodness for instant smartphone video technology and the delayed gratification of snail mail . And a little old school shaving cream 'snow' to dig in . Big love to you, MBx @ Somers Beach

09.01.2022 Yes please every day "Let's do what we love and do lots of it." Watch your ripple effect roll out and on when you do. ... I love being with all my boys, being in the studio, painting, making, talking about art making process, working with other creatives and watching their "ah-ha!' moments link together, singing, chatting to my hounds, being outside, being at the beach, being in the company of family and friends with absolutely nothing to do and whatever we're drinking, hot or cold, freely flowing... preferably under a dark clear night sky I love dreaming up projects, breaking them down to their essence and building them up again as a bubble of art making goodness that welcomes people in and nurtures and celebrates creativity. Fun fact: Pre-Theo, this is what I did daily, arts project development and facilitation, in the health, community and inclusive arts sectors. It's a 'hat' that fits so well that I don't want to take it off! The first Melissa Banks Studio projet out in the world is Creator Co. Progressive studio collaborations for artists and creators Pieces from the inaugral Creator Co. Studio Hop have started to make their way back to me, from creatively courageous folk leaning into more of what they love. Will you join us on our next Studio Hop? Registrations open September 10th. DM me for more info and or to join the wait list. Happy new week, Monday MBx

08.01.2022 Ooh, ooh, ooh Hello weekend and open doors and little folk naps and studio time to bird song and slow beach manders and lingering cups of tra and conversation and day dreaming and full hearts and calm minds. All the things. Or some of the things Or perhaps none of the things.... I'm doing me today. However you're doing you, big love to you.

08.01.2022 True story, though far from an important one.... Lockdown seriously trashed ALL my jeans. Yes, I'm one of those who did Melbourne winter lockdown in jeans. I love 'em. I tried embracing active wear... It lasted utill then end of March, just couldn't do it. ... So HELLO Spring and HELLO 'old is new' and 'new is new again' wardrobe! I bought this genie inspired number at the end of summer and I've only just rediscovered it Turns out I'm falling for orange . We've spent so long going nowhere that getting a frock on now to head to the postoffice and then back to the studio feels.... fancy and freeing! Painting ornaments, making final tweaks on my new website and making sure my 'I've walked these shores before' beachscape collection is ready to launch on Thursday () all feels amazingly more real when my outward 'face' mirrors how I'm feeling inside . (Excited, empowered, creative, generous, a little vulnerable if I'm being honest - but nothing that can't be bolstered with an 'old is new' or 'new is new again' from my historicalyl 'I've got nothing to wear' wardrobe) Here's to finding gems deep in Narnia that we'd forgotten about and not needing an excuse to frock up Are you having a wardrobe revival?! Link in my bio if you're keen for a pre launch preview of my new beachscape collection Happy first day of the week, MBx

04.01.2022 Oh, Spring. Never has a turn of the season been so anticipated. Welcome. Oh, 2020. Perhaps hindsight will help us to make more sense of the year that we’re having?... I know Melbourne Metro hearts are feeling heavy. I’m here too. Please. Oh, Creator Co. Goodness . This moment of connection with other creatives in artmaking has been golden. Happy mail. A celebration of process diversity. Flow space in the studio. The challenge to find a creative solution in an existing artwork. Knowing there is another person at the end of the marks made on the physical page you’re holding. Thank you. Oh, everything that is golden. Focusing on these golden flecks - the small changes outside that signal the turn of the season, time with my boys, finding a little studio time every day. This studio time is always with my little folk entourage, but this connection to my creative space even if just for fleeting moments helps keep my keel even. I hope you’re well out there and finding a rhythm that supports your creativity . Why not Creator Co. Join us, get inspired, make some art, stretch your creativity trust muscle, try new ways of making, let go of expectations, say yes to spontaneity, connect with other creatives and make better use of your mail box! Creator Co. registrations open this Thursday, September 10th. Read more info at the link in my bio or DM now to join the next Creator Co Studio Hop. Hello, Monday. Much love, MBx

02.01.2022 Hello "Golden Gumnuts" My artwork is hanging out in the best of company at the wonderfully virtual @artredhill online exhibition until October 30th. Golden Gumnuts celebrate the changing of seasons and the renewed beauty that comes with one seasons end. A nod to Aussie bush colours with a splash of metalic gold, Golden Gumnuts is colourful, textural and bold. ... When the soft flowering gum has finished blooming the stoic gumnuts remain. They are revealed in all their golden glory to adorn the tree, full of tales to tell. Rich colour is first applied to glass and then monoprinted onto cotton rag paper. Golden Gumnuts has been built up layer by layer with hand monoprinted and cut pieces collaged together to create the whole. 560 x 750mm, acrylic collage on Cotton Rag paper. Head over to @artredhill and click the link in their bio to check out this piece and the other 660 pieces being celebrated in the covid pivot exhibition this year. A fabulous show. Amazing work #artredhill. Thank you fo continuing to support our local creative community xo