Melissa Harshman
Hope  

Media: Pigmented Abaca 

Artist Statement:
This work was thought up in reaction to the call for exhibitions by the Mid-America Print Council Conference that was to be held in October 2020 (it has now been postponed until 2022). I proposed this piece to be displayed in response to the theme Power of Print: Resistance & Revolution. My idea for this work stemmed from the history of the red poppy flower. Poppies are a flower that symbolize peace, especially the red poppy which was called the Remembrance Poppy following World War I. The poppy is a resilient plant that grew in the war-torn soil after multiple bombings after the war. This is one of the reasons for the choice of this flower. The goal of the exhibition was to honor those who have died in the name of resistance. Each of the flowers have poppy seeds imbedded in the paper and the concept of the piece was that each flower could be planted and grow new flowers.

During the last few months this piece has grown in significance for me. Worries about big issues such as the pandemic and global warming to personal issues for me and my family have kept me up at nights. The simple act of making these flowers has been an outlet for me to be in the present moment, remind me to stay positive, and that we will get through these troubled times. Flowers have always been a love of mine and being outside in nature helps me to let go of my stress. These flowers are not only a way to honor those who have died, but now a way for me to give hope to all of us living in these “unprecedented times”.

Biography

Melissa Harshman is a printmaker and papermaker who has taught at the Lamar Dodd School of Art since 1993. She is currently the Chair of the Printmaking and Book Arts Department. Her most recent award was a Sr. Faculty Research grant titled "Explorations in Papermaking".