ABOUT MELISSA HRONKIN

I am an Artist and Art Educator. My journey began as an observer, photographer, maker of things, and a daughter of teachers. I am also a student, continually evaluating and discovering theoretical and practical aspects of the Visual Arts. My camera allowed me to negotiate a space for myself during my teens and early twenties. The University of Alaska Anchorage allowed me to experiment with drawing, mixed media, and autobiographical photography. Minneapolis College of Art and Design was where my photography became sculpture and installation, but referenced the spiritual and machine-like aspects of image making. Artist as Alchemist became my fascination.

What followed was my retreat back to rural Michigan. Here, I pursued Art Education, and found it to be as fascinating as creating art myself; how can I inspire others to find their unique vision—while still maintaining my artistic vision?

Encaustics and Beeswax Collage: Sweetness and Light.

“Melissa” means honeybee in Greek. This realization combined with a desire to get back into the studio led me to experimentation with Encaustics, an ancient medium using pigmented beeswax. I approached this medium experimentally, and used it as a medium to bind together my photography, drawing, sculptures, and ideas. There is no heartbreak that a little beeswax can’t patch back together. I also became a beekeeper, with a 20 hive apiary this summer. Working with the bees and harvesting honey and wax has brought me to an intimate place with the medium and the fascinating creatures that produce it.

Imagery in my work depicts beekeepers, the history of beekeeping, and the lore surrounding this collaboration between humans and nature, and human interrelationships. The sacred and sensual aspect of honey and beeswax was an area of interest as well. For me, this is kind of a personal return to the “quest”, the rising of Icarus whose wings failed him because the wax holding them together melted when he flew too close to the sun.

In addition to this being a personal journey to get back into art making, I am hoping that this artwork will bring awareness to the recent plight of the honeybee and surrounding industry. According to some scientists, the honeybee disappearance may be a more urgent issue than global warming, because 1/3 or our food supply is pollinated by honeybees. The Apis Melifera is a “keystone” species, meaning that we are not aware of all that it does for the human race. It is the stone in the arch that keep the sides together.