Melody Leary

My name is Melody Leary and I live and work in southeastern Connecticut.  Recently retired, after teaching art for over 35 years, I am now concentrating my energies on my own artwork and building my studio practice.  My current work reflects an interest in using common objects and natural forms as metaphors to express ideas and emotions. I work in a variety of techniques and for the past 15 years have been focusing on less toxic printmaking processes. I've created prints using Solarplates, Imagon photopolymer film, Toray plates and polyester plate lithography and have been experimenting with Akua inks. My workspace - Treetop Studio - is equipped with a large Rembrandt elephant press and provides me with the freedom to seek my creative muse. Printmaking has been my focus for many years.  I have always been intrigued by the unique opportunities that the ‘transferred image’ affords. It’s the process and the often unexpected results that captivate me. The smell of the inks, the energy involved in ‘working’ the plate, the feel of the paper, the magic of the press, all play a role in printmaking’s allure. There are always new challenges to be met and problems to be solved. There’s a certain flexibility in printmaking that allows me to explore various creative materials and techniques and to combine processes to realize my creative vision. My work reflects my curiosity about how we see; how we translate our experiences into a visual language.  With printmaking, the opportunities are unlimited and keep me open and receptive in my practice as an artist.   At the end of a printing session, it is always magical to find out what lies beneath the blankets.