Melissa
Hronkin
Artist
Statement
Musings/Muses
2012 with Judy Sarosik
These
small collages with beeswax represent moments, and my fascination with historic
photographs. These musings or muses are
souvenirs of places that we have not yet been, and can never visit. They are immortalized in photographs and then
encased in beeswax.
Current
Explorations in Encaustics and Beeswax Collage:
Sweetness and Light
“Melissa”
means honeybee in Greek. This
realization combined with a desire to get back into the studio led me to
experimentation with Encaustics, an ancient medium using pigmented
beeswax. I approached this medium
experimentally, and used it as a medium to bind together my photography,
drawing, sculptures, and ideas. There is
no heartbreak that a little beeswax can’t patch back together. I also became a beekeeper. Working with the
bees and harvesting honey and wax has brought me to an intimate place with the
medium and the fascinating creatures that produce it.
The Story
I
am an Artist and Art Educator. My
journey began as an observer, photographer, maker of things, and a daughter of
teachers. I am also a student,
continually evaluating and discovering theoretical and practical aspects of the
Visual Arts.
My camera allowed me to negotiate a space for
myself during my teens and early twenties.
The University of Alaska Anchorage allowed me to experiment with
drawing, mixed media, and autobiographical photography. Minneapolis College of Art and Design was
where my photography became sculpture and installation, but referenced the
spiritual and machine-like aspects of image making. Artist as Alchemist became my fascination.
What
followed was my retreat back to rural Michigan.
Here, I pursued Art Education, and found it to be as fascinating as creating
art myself; how can I inspire others to find their unique vision—while still
maintaining my artistic vision?
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