Melissa Baron, Jan 13-31 a biography
Artist Statement
My interest in skies began with colour-drenched winter sunrises. I find great meaning in that the season which demands the greatest resilience also offers phenomenal beauty. The darkness doesn’t just end: it ends with beauty.
Not always saturated with hue, skies darken at times with heavy storm clouds. We may see them lurking on the horizon, creeping closer with every breath. Other times they strike when we are unaware. The most violent storms are crushing: the wind bows us over, the rain and snow pelt us, the howl deafens us, and the darkness blinds us. The sheer power of a storm exhausts our patience and resolve, and brings us face to face with our frailty and terror.
And while things may never be the same – trees broken that will not regrow, a crop that is lost, flattened by the rain – something happens when we learn what fear really means. It can break us, but sometimes it can also create us. A storm can teach us not to fear a shadow because we have sat in the infinite dark. It also teaches us that when the sun does rise, its beauty is potent.
Most storms do pass, and our small world is transformed – whether the storm wracks the trees outdoors or the timbers of our hearts. As notable Canadian artist Robert Genn wrote, “It’s good to trust the skies. There’s a lifetime in them.”
Artist Biography
Melissa Baron grew up in Sherwood Park and currently lives in Edmonton. She recalls watercolour painting alongside her mother from an early age, but her interest in art was piqued at a creative writing camp for teenagers where she was enrolled in a cartooning class. She studied art at the University of Alberta and Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney, Australia. Currently she works with the Government of Alberta writing art curriculum. Her artwork has been featured at the Gallery @501, and the Edmonton International Airport, and is part of the collections of the University of Alberta and Strathcona County.
Contact Melissa:
Instagram @mbaron17