Check Out Melissa English Campbell’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa English Campbell.

Melissa English, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I came to art later in life, entering an MFA program in my early 40s. After earning my degree, I taught in Kent State University’s College of Fashion for seven years before leaving academia to become a full-time artist.

My work is informed by my formative years, which were filled with constant movement and adaptation. I grew up moving frequently, living in places that included the U.S. and Europe. By the age of nine, I had lived in roughly twenty different places, changing languages several times. That experience gave me an early understanding of what it takes to navigate unfamiliar environments and adapt to new circumstances. These ideas continue to inform my work today.

Although I have always been drawn to color, pattern, and making things by hand, it was during graduate school that I began developing the process that defines my practice today: painting directly onto yarn before weaving it into cloth.

Over the years, I have developed this technique into a way of bringing painting and weaving together, harnessing the structure of the loom to transform the original image in unexpected ways. I love the balance between what I can control and what I have to let go of. To me the process mirrors life: we create structures to help us navigate the world, but those structures are continually challenged by change.

Today, I work from a small studio that used to be a gardening shed, where I weave paintings in a range of sizes. My work has been exhibited nationally, internationally and I have shared it through solo exhibitions, residencies, public art commissions and publications.

As my practice has grown, so has my understanding of what I want my work to do. I want to take the experience of moving physically through countries and languages and translate into a visual language to better understand those experiences. Ultimately, I see my work as an ongoing exploration of how it feels to be a stranger in a strange place, what we carry with us, and how we find ways to hold both presence and absence.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the biggest challenges has been feeling like an outsider and building a sense of community without having a large network of family or longtime friends nearby. Putting down roots and finding a place where I truly feel I belong has been an ongoing process.

There is also the process of navigating the uncertainty of leaving a stable teaching career to pursue art full-time, which has requires flexibility, and faith in my work.

The environment, also, has taken some adjusting to. Before settling in Northeast Ohio, I lived in Scotland and, before that, Iowa, so I’ve experienced some very different climates. The weather here has been both a challenge and a relief in comparison!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I run my art practice out of a studio in a wooded neighborhood of Kent Ohio. My space is small but efficient, it has just enough room for some work tables, two looms and storage space to hold my painting supplies and yarn.

From this space I create artworks that travel to exhibitions around the world, as well as find homes in private and public collections. I work most days from 8AM to about 4PM creating woven paintings. My work begins with painting directly onto individual strands of yarn before they are woven together on a loom.

I’ve spent more than a decade developing this process, experimenting with materials, techniques, and ways to push the boundaries of what woven textiles can do. I think what sets my work apart is the way I approach weaving as both a technical process and a form of painting. Rather than using yarn simply to construct a pattern or image, I use the loom to interrupt and transform a painted composition. Color, geometry, and texture are my visual language for exploring experiences that might otherwise be difficult to express.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I’ve had some lovely support from gallery owners, curators, and fellow artists. But the people who stand out the most are my husband, J.R. and two grown children, Willow and Ash. They have been a good cheer squad, and also willing subjects, posing for my portraits. They have each helped at various times with installations, transportations and studio assisting.

Pricing:

• Large pieces range in price from $4,000 to $9,000
• Small pieces range in price from $200 to $2,400

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melissaenglishcampbell.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/me_campbell/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaCampbellStudios
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-campbell-2781262a3