Melanie Boone

"White Lotus Cigars " unframed collage on fine art paper by artist Melanie Boone

1997

Melanie Boone wanted to be an artist for as long as she could remember. At the age of six, she won an art contest in Laguna Beach, and throughout her childhood, whenever she could make enough money to buy painting supplies, she would indulge her passion. She was tutored in grade school by Elsa Salvison, a mosaic artist who invited Boone into her home, shared her love of art and allowed her to work in her home studio. Boone enjoyed her art classes in high school, but after viewing an art exhibit of the “fearless art” of Edward Kienholz at the age of 16 she gained the confidence to trust herself and follow her own path. After high school, Boone enrolled in Fullerton California Junior College where she was introduced to pottery and loved it. During her two years at Fullerton, she learned many other techniques including drawing, jewelry making, assemblage art and painting in every medium. Abstract art was and remains a passion. Determined to find a career in art, Boone worked in Watts at a production art studio. Although the working conditions were difficult, she learned many more techniques and mastered the process of silk screening. Eventually she moved to a better studio that produced higher quality work and continued to grow in her artistic abilities. Creating color silk screens, she was now able to draw the designs and frequently used the beautiful flowers that she loved so much. Her reputation was growing. She was active in performance art and was teaching workshops in various colleges including UCLA. She and a friend started a studio together where they could be assured that the quality of work going out would be very high. Those years were another high-growth period for her. When an opportunity to teach children was presented, Boone and her daughter moved to Yosemite for four years. She continued working on silk screening in addition to teaching art to children, which she found very rewarding. Eventually, the years Boone spent working with silk screens began to take a toll on her health due to the toxic inks used, and she had to make a change. She moved back to California and began anew, then moved to a Northwest rural community with many other artists Although Boone can work in any medium, she currently creates multi-media pieces. Always a collector of things found in nature, she never lacks for items to blend into her work such as feathers or bone fragments. Deeply enamored by Asian art and history, she incorporates this exotic look into her art, but she enjoys mixing cultures and may add a piece of fabric from Bali onto a drawing that appears to have a traditional Chinese look. Gold leaf is another favorite enhancement used in her collages. She stains everything creating an antiqued look. Many of her works have borders that are made from hand-dyed silks that she creates herself