Bio

Melissa Engler is a woodworker/sculptor based in Asheville, NC. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in sculpture from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and is a graduate of the Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Program in furniture. Melissa’s work has been featured in Carolina Home + Garden, WNC Magazine, Woodwork Magazine and American Craft and is held in private collections across the US. She teaches nationally and internationally with her partner and fellow wood-sculptor Graeme Priddle.

Graeme and Melissa currently work at Grovewood Studios in Asheville and are represented by Grovewood Gallery (NC), Penland Gallery (NC), Green Hill Center for Art (NC), and The Gallery at Flat Rock (NC).

Artist Statement

The sculptural works shown are created under the theme “Hunted and Gathered”. They are an exploration into the ways we utilize the natural world with an emphasis on the line between use and abuse.
I am deeply interested in conservation and the sacred quality of plants and animals. Simultaneously I am fascinated by the cycles of consumption and violence that are inherent in natural systems. Being that these two concepts are somewhat at odds with each other, I feel compelled to create work that allows me to examine these concerns without having to find words or perfect answers. My hope is that the pieces convey a sense of our primal connection to our environment and evoke an awareness of its tenuous state.

Though I am not currently doing any large scale furniture pieces, it is something I still love and will always revisit. I graduated from the Professional Crafts Program at Haywood Community College in 2010 and have found the skills I attained there to be invaluable in all my pursuits.