About

Basically, I just want to drink coffee, pet some dogs, and make things that feel real.

Hey,  I’m Mel. I’m an artist, designer, introvert, mental health advocate, and mom to a pack of dogs and a few very judgmental cats.

My work lives somewhere between the beauty and the breakdown; between color and chaos, trauma and healing.

I rediscovered art in 2017 after my dog Dewey died traumatically. But the truth is, art has always been part of me. I painted all through school and college — until I stopped. Life pulled me in other directions, and somewhere along the way, I forgot how much I needed it.

Then, after loss and grief  pulled me into a black hole, art helped me find my way out.

Not all at once. But day by day, color by color, stroke by stroke, it helped me climb back.

And now I paint as an act of joy. Of survival. Of presence.

My art is bold. Messy. Sometimes chaotic.

It’s not “fine,” and neither am I.

I live with anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, and PTSD. I go to therapy. I journal. I meditate. I make things.

And I’ve built Unfinery as a space where all of that — the grief, the weirdness, the joy, the mess — is welcome.

You won’t find stories wrapped in sunshine and ease here.

But you will find truth. Grit. Grief. And the kind of joy that’s hard-earned; the kind you fight your way toward.

And if you’re here, maybe something in you is looking for that too.