Melissa Stern

Melissa Stern worked in both the Pottery and the Foundry at Kohler Co., casting elements which would be incorporated into installations. Some castings were from found objects: an altered 1950s handbag, a fish, and high heels. Others were from objects she created: a house form, a simplified torso and head, and an elongated organic pod shape otherwise known as a torpedo to the factory workers. Toward the end of her residency, Melissa finished the surfaces of some of these pieces to emphasize their various textures and searched the factory for suitable scrap from which to build bases for her installations. The completed work combined ceramic and iron elements. Melissa received her B.A. in anthropology and studio art from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, and her M.F.A. from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Her work has been exhibited in one-person shows at Primitive, San Francisco, CA and Clodagh, Ross & Williams, New York, NY. In addition, she has participated in group exhibitions with the Wita Gardiner Gallery, San Diego, CA; the Corvallis Art Center, Corvallis, OR; and the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. Her work has been featured in Contemporary American Craft Art – A Collector’s Guide by Barbara Mayer.