Artist Bio or Résumé
My earliest childhood memories in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are of hours spent in nature - rolling down hills, lying on my back watching the clouds, collecting fireflies at dusk. I loved spending as much time as possible outdoors, and soon I started to draw and paint outside. My "subjects" would usually be whatever was in my yard.
I often won awards in school for my art and writing, which always surprised me, because I never gave "winning" a second thought - all I wanted to do was create, and it came easily to me. I was accepted at several top art schools in the Northeast but decided at the last minute to pursue a "safer" route toward a liberal arts degree. I received a BA from Bucknell University, graduating with a double major in Psychology and Fine Art.
I "fell in" to a career in marketing communications, working in progressively responsible positions in advertising agencies in Philadelphia and then Boston. However, the more successful I was in my career, the more unfulfilled I felt as an artist. I pursued many creative outlets in my spare time, and had many "side" businesses making wreaths, soap, candles, jams, fudge and bread, just to name a few.
A "window" opened in 1998 when I signed up for a jewelry class. After 12 years in the advertising field, I left for a less-stressful, less time-consuming career. A lot of soul searching followed, as well as various stints at the Peabody Essex Museum and other local non-profit organizations, until I decided to concentrate on a career in jewelry design. I apprenticed with a local goldsmith for two years before starting my own business, Melissa Birtwell Designs.
Soon after the beginning of my metalsmithing career, when I was working at it around the clock, I became very ill from the airborne particles and chemical reactions that are created during various processes such as soldering and polishing. I took a break and went to work full time as a Production Manager for a local jewelry company: I managed 15 off-site "beaders" as well as most aspects of the general business. During this time, I honed my wire-working skills and started to design jewelry creating my own shapes and designs in wire, along with natural gemstones. Also during this period, I taught jewelry classes for the City of Beverly's Recreation Department, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I realized in the last couple of years that I missed painting and writing, so I have added both activities back into my life. I now work in pastels and have started "writing for myself", which will be part of a blog project in the near future.
I have been a member of SAA for several years and served as the interim Vice President from Jun 2013 to Jan 2014. I am currently on SAA's Board of Directors.
