“Hi Mel!” I hear the small strong voice from across the street. I look up from sweeping the leaves outside of the gallery and there is River waving excitedly and holding Ria’s hand. His huge smile.
“Do you like watermelon?” I ask as he sits down at the table and requests a piece of paper and pens.
I open the container of cut up melon and put it between us. He dives in. Ria heads into the gallery to set up a new batch of prints and stickers. She makes woodcut prints of these magical creatures based on bugs and deer and other natural creatures. There’s a frog with horns, swirly eyes, and wings made of leaves—a character proposed by River who loves frogs.
“I found a frog this morning and I thought of you,” I say to River.
“Where is it?” he asks, “Can I see it?”
“No, it’s back at my house which is that direction about 20 minutes away. I have a hose outside of my tent and when I turned it on this morning, it whooshed right out. It was a little one. It’s probably still in the bucket where I keep the hose.”
“Maybe when I visit your house.”
“Yes.”
I head inside while River grabs a pen in one hand and another piece of watermelon in the other.
Ria shows me the new prints and we move a few things around so her space in the gallery is a little better defined. I add Ria’s artist statement to the wall:
ARTIST
Ria - Evergreen Oddities
My art is inspired by, if i had to pick one word— dreaming! In my flow state i tend to drift around ideas of whimsy, oddity, and portal-bending natures. Inspired by the earth, childlike curiosity and an opportunity to evoke emotions, i create designs of a wide variety on multiple mediums. From magical critter / chimera linocut stamps pressed onto one of a kind clothing pieces, to ornamental talismans burned into beautiful wood cuts, and even fun stickers, prints, and accessories for all ages to enjoy. My biggest dream is for my art to resonate with the dreamer in all! I have been in communication with this art for nearly all of my life, and have found much of my inspiration from being present on this beautiful earth, keeping my bare feet to the grass with my sweet 5 year-old animal loving son. Transmuting dreams and feelings into tangible art space to then share with connected souls continues to be one of my greatest goals and pleasures.
Welcome to Evergreen Oddities!
As they head out, River finishes off the last of the watermelon and hands me his piece of paper. It’s covered in tiny black dots.
“Those are fleas,” he says.
“Do you mind if I take this and do a collage on top of it?” I ask, “Then I’ll tell you which piece it is and we’ll both know that there are fleas underneath the art.”
“That’s a good idea,” he says.
They drive off and I open Mel’s Messy Love Lab LIVE for the day.
I add the flea drawing to my pile of collage art to be finished. I hope that little frog in the bucket is still there when I get back to my tent.
The end of the day brings the frog still in the bucket. He’s sitting on a plate I left in there. I need to do my dishes. I get a text from Ria with River’s worksheet for the day—the letter “M” with a picture of Mel holding a Mosaic.
LOVE!!!
Frogs and fleas, Mel and a mosaic ... all in a day's work. 🤩