Melissa Ann Rivenbark

I was born and raised in Maryland. I started my college career in 2000 at North Carolina State University. After the first year I decided to take time off to travel, and start a family. I decided to continue working towards my degree in art while growing my family. In 2011, with 3 total kids, I finished my A.A. in General Studies. I eventually transferred to the University of Arizona in Tucson and I will graduate in May, 2014 with my Bachelor\'s of Fine Arts in Studio Art. Next step: grad school. My work is inspired by my interest in psychology. I have two main bodies of work; one focuses on abstract figures and the other on landscapes. I work with mixed media so that I can focus on an appropriate assemblage of materials for each specific artwork. In this way, objects are distorted and stripped bare of everything accept the message they truly offer. My urban landscape series is inspired by the routine mental processes of people. Each piece constructs a context for the contemporary pace of life; displaying an underlying method for categorizing all incoming data. I compose the initial composition with fabric and thread. For the rest of the layers I alternate between painting, drawing and sewing.