Melissa has lived a life distilled in paperweight aesthetic and paperweight making history & technique. She uses this deep understanding to ask questions. What is paperweight form? In what place should it be displayed and what purpose does that art serve? What meaning do paperweights hold? While her work is deeply rooted in the art of the paperweight, one should argue that much or her art is anything but a 'paperweight'. There remains some debate about whether paperweights (even well crafted paperweights) should be categorized as fine art or decorative art. The core of this debate is embedded in history, related to paperweight form, and the context of display. With Melissa's work, specifically the the Circulus series, the Basket series and her other sculptural works, I think there is no question that these works are indeed better categorized as fine art glass sculpture. These are works that are open to exuberant and diverse interpretation, inviting the viewer to grasp a specific and unique sense of understanding. This is the magic of Melissa's work!
This particular example features a bouquet of yellow and red dahlias suspended in clear crystal and framed by a double overlay of gun metal over red and finished with a Red Rain Frank Lloyd Wright inspired geometric cold-worked pattern. The powder coated stand is custom made for this one of a kind piece.
