Melanie (Melly) Testa

Fruit

Last week I carved this fruit set. I don’t know how many stamps, stencils and carvings this set is composed of. I am batching today. My result so far are very interesting A full report to come. I will be printing this image again this week. Check back in!!

Many Mellys

Brace yourself, this is a long one. In the above photo I am wearing a Handful Bra with padded inserts and the camisole I am wearing says, ‘Well-behaved women seldom make history’. This week, I read Stephanie Forsyth’s post called, ‘I Yam What I Yam‘, where she talks about being a potty mouth, beer guzzling,Continue reading “Many Mellys”

working out the kinks

I am working hard behind the scenes here, at Studio Melly. A few months back, I was printing some birds from The 20 only to find that my wash out rate was too high while printing with Procion MX dyes on cloth. I wasn’t getting the intensity of color, or the bold, bright colors IContinue reading “working out the kinks”

Strong Curves

The week I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I realized the only thing I wasn’t doing to be the healthiest person I possibly could, was exercise. When I told my breast surgeon that it was time to start, she laughed at me and said, “you get diagnosed with breast cancer and you think it meansContinue reading “Strong Curves”

Still Here, after all these years.

I have been quiet for a long time. I am well. I am feeling better and better and have been sinking deeply into my creative process. To be honest, recovering from cancer treatment and getting used to being a flat chested woman is not easy. There are the physical concerns, feeling as if I haveContinue reading “Still Here, after all these years.”

Printing, printing, printing.

I have been printing away over here. Some pieces are batching, some washed, some on paper, some cloth. Today will be a continued day of printing. I find I like working small. These cloth pieces are about 8×12, or just a bit bigger. Previously I worked on fat quarters, 18×22″ or so. I find whatContinue reading “Printing, printing, printing.”

Relearn

I have become lackadaisical in my use of Procion MX dyes, so I asked a fabulous teacher, who has had a profound effect on my own work with MX dyes to help me troubleshoot and identify my issues. If you know me, you might know who I am talking about, but because I have notContinue reading “Relearn”

Multipass

The title of this post refers to the movie The Fifth Element, with Mila Jovovich. Mila’s character wants to travel and needs a multipass to do so (a multipass is a sort of passport). She goes to the airport and looks at the gate keeper and repeats the word, ‘Multipass’ in an accent that hasContinue reading “Multipass”

On my desk

I am happy to say, I am on a creative roll, an amazing stint, where all I have been thinking about and doing in the last few years is coming together in new and exciting ways. It seems I am no longer concerned about what media I use to express my vision, cloth, paper, itContinue reading “On my desk”

Continued Story.

It seems Peach has done another awesome thing. She found David and I, specifically. Last week I had several conversations with the veterinarian who ‘spayed’ Peach. It turns out, the spay was incomplete and uterine tissue was left inside her body. This tissue is producing estrogen. Peach needs to go into heat again, so thatContinue reading “Continued Story.”