Melissa Carey loves to contribute to community art through festivals around Australia. With her experience as a full time professional artist, she knows how to lead a team and create something beautiful to capture the people's hearts.
Her style is intricate, detailed & contemporary in it's various forms of sculpture & installation art, balancing her feminine elements of rope & textiles with her masculine elements of timber & metal, and encompasses themes of connection. She has a strong focus on managing all elements of her projects from design concepts, fabrication and installation, and has a hands-on approach to making her artwork. She is passionate about sharing knowledge and encouraging creativity through teaching, and has taught thousands of people at her art & modern craft workshops in her studio & events Australia-wide. For more about Melissa CLICK HERE
Snake Sculpture, Australia 2021
What a journey it was, creating this beautiful sculpture over 4 months in collaboration with @dreadsndragons.
She has been built using thousands of hand-cut timber scales, every curve was custom-designed to fit in the space and keep the flowing, snake-like energy. The eyes are handmade with gold leaf and resin. The tongue and shapes around the eyes are copper (recycled from the old shower basin on the property). And of course, a stone spiral as the tail.
She is a symbol of healing, as she helped me transform from the intense pandemic and through my own inner journey last year.
She stands strong yet flexible, agile in her movements, steady in her patience and fierce with creative energy.
“The snake has long been a symbol of the creative life force within humans as is taught in eastern traditions. The kundalini or serpent fire lies coiled at the base of the spine. As we grow and develop, the primal energy is released, rising up the spine. This intern activates energy centres in the body and the mind, opening new dimensions and levels of awareness, health, and creativity.” - words from Animal Speak.
A MASSIVE thanks to our clients, for giving us full creative direction and trusting us with your hearts. We poured our creative energy into this art for you, may it provide healing and transformation for all who come to your healing property and festivals to come.
Designed and built by Melissa Carey @artistmelissacarey and Leon Metzker @dreadsndragons
Located in SE Queensland, Australia.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE! (Click on the image above to watch)
Burning Seed Festival, Australia 2019
"Wild Heart" Sculpture
WILD HEART // Our heart calls for the wild, unleashed, unraveled, unfolded, we ache to roam in the fields, soar in the sky, filled with love. ⠀
The meaning behind this artwork was about setting our wild hearts free. By burning the sculpture, it was a process of Melissa's own personal transformation, it was about letting go, transforming her own wild heart into the flames, and allowing space for others to set their own intention in setting their own heart free. ⠀
Melissa was the lead designer and team lead for this sculpture. Her vision started with a sketch, and she was awarded a grant from Burning Seed to cover the cost of her sculpture. She held fundraiser event Wild Heart, that raised the extra $2,500 needed to bring her vision to life in a large scale.
After much planning, Melissa arrived onsite with her team and they built this sculpture in 6 days, that spanned 5.7 metres high and 8 metres wide. As part of the Friday Night Art Burn, the sculpture went up in flames and wild heart soared.
Designer & Team Lead: @artistmelissacarey ⠀
Design & Build Team: @artistmelissacarey @dreadfull_creationsco @mason.jjames @rhysie_cul @morphica_ @dreadsndragons ⠀
ConFest, Australia 2019
"Woven Conversation Pod" at ConFest 2019
Melissa won an art grant to build a sculpture for ConFest Festival in the Australian bushland of south NSW as part of 4ArtsSake.
She travelled down to the property a week before the festival to create a sculpture with the help of friends and volunteers, where they used found sticks in nature to build the dome-like structure.
Then Melissa created looms on the inside of the sculpture, and invited the community to come and add their weaving inside the sculpture, or just hang out and weave conversations.
Thanks to her amazing friends @ginagee.creations @cerencnby @reecey_yogi for helping bring her idea to life, along with the many other Confest volunteers that helped too.
