Deb Mell

For artist Deb Mell, found objects and a miscellany of ordinaryitems—from jewels to kitchen matches—are the most essential elementsin her palette. The painter and sculptor is a lifelong collector ofwhat she calls “other people’s cast-offs, with every one a treasure,”and she values the process of “pushing and pulling” her materials intoworks of art as much as the finished pieces. Her affinity for making“anything out of anything” is the legacy of her grandfather, whoshared a love of collecting and building and stories about theirfamily and Native American heritage.

Combining colored glass, sequins and other repurposed material withlayers of acrylic paint, ink and resin, Mell creates vivid portraitsthat are penetrating and often comic. Yet visually and stylistically,they can also be viewed as archetypes that seem to have emerged fromthe realm of folklore and myth. Mell uses the playfulness inherent inthese legends to tell stories of her own life, relationships andfantasies, just as she uses the resourcefulness learned from hergrandfather to make something timeless into something new.