Author Archives: Melanie (Melly) Testa

Plastic paint (I mean acrylic).

I am project surfing to be sure. I am doing a bit of this, some of that, and enjoying myself. As I have said previously, I don’t have a lot of experience with acrylic paint. No problem there, it just leaves the playing field open, allowing me the freedom to try new things. I amContinue reading “Plastic paint (I mean acrylic).”

Gather your Sew-plies, sew where you go.

    I am here at 61 Local, or at least that is what I think the name of this place is. It might be Public House 61. I am unsure. It has free wifi, an offering I will be coming to value. You see, I need to get out of the house. I have beenContinue reading “Gather your Sew-plies, sew where you go.”

Paint, sand, paint.

   I have been feeling creatively stifled, lately. And when I think about what might help move the energy and spark change, painting with acrylics keeps coming up.      I don’t really ‘know’ how to paint with acrylics, which is good, it means the playing field is wide open and I get to make theContinue reading “Paint, sand, paint.”

meadowlark, design, cut and sew?

I have been using, and loving, Quiltography for iPad. It has ‘potato chip factor’, which means, I open it, start designing and cannot stop. I think I have designed over 40 quilt tops using Meadowlark. But it is now time to begin making quilts using the information the app provides. As I have been doingContinue reading “meadowlark, design, cut and sew?”

Wow. My Quilt Top Challenge.

I am stepping back into my own and it feels good.  Artistically speaking, I have been on ‘secret hold’ for more than a year. Meaning, I have not been able to show my art, talk about it, not much of anything really. That is a difficult place to be, when you keep a blog whereContinue reading “Wow. My Quilt Top Challenge.”

Shirts off, Underwear on: Play Out, Breast Cancer and Gender Expectations

About a year and a half after my breast cancer diagnosis I was partaking in a pool program for survivors. We met at a local gym on the sixth floor where they had two pools, one for swimming laps, the other heated and used for rehabilitation purposes. The pool room was beautiful: light streamed inContinue reading “Shirts off, Underwear on: Play Out, Breast Cancer and Gender Expectations”

Iron Body Melly

Lifting, using kettle bells, exercise is very important to me. Just three years ago, I had little or no knowledge of how to workout, what good form was, what exercises to pair together, nothing. I researched my options, evaluated my personality and decided online training services were the best option for me. I like training atContinue reading “Iron Body Melly”

Working Large

As you know, I have a tendency to working small. I live in a small New York City apartment. My studio, if this is what you call it, resides within my home. My ‘wet studio’ consists of a 2 foot by 4 foot workbench. So, of course, the fabrics I print need to be sizedContinue reading “Working Large”