Barbara Melnik Carson

The landscape of Barbara’s childhood was the ethnically diverse area of southwest Detroit. The people of her neighborhood came from countries considered irrelevant to mainstream America: Ukraine, Malta, Cuba, Mexico and many others. These countries were rich in culture, and the streets around her home reflected these cultures. The sights, the sounds, the smells, and the stories of her childhood became the well she drew her art from.

“I am a narrative sculptor working to create art that starts a conversation. Primarily interested in making work that exists in all three dimensions, I weave a story to connect it to my viewer’s existence.

My passion for creating began in childhood growing up in Southwest Detroit. With limited supplies, I learned to make art through improvising objects found in my neighborhood.

Religious and ethnic themes grow naturally from that past culturally rich environment.

After a career working as an occupational therapist I continue to emerge as an artist. Working with intuitive and outsider artists during my career in mental health provided a creative surge.

Today, my sculptural clay and mixed media works grow from personal insights linked to broader issues.”

In her neighborhood she learned at a very young age that everything can be reused. Every object has more than one life, more than one story to tell. Her sculpture begins when she discovers an object with a story to tell. It can be a castoff kitchen spoon or a washed up piece of driftwood, something that would be viewed as debris with no intrinsic value left. She then sculpts pieces that will capture the essence of that story.
Her work is a dialogue between her and the viewer. The hope is that you will work together to create a shared story