An art experience graciously hosted by Daydreamer Coffee & Public House in St. Johns Portland, OR
DATES: November 2025 - January 2026
Select works by Melissa Henderson
a note from Mel:
I grew up barefoot and I can still remember the squishy texture of the bank. He taught me to fish in the pond with a tiny little pole, it had Snoopy all over it, or was it Woodstock..? Earthworms dug from the garden we needed, a red and white bobber I promised not to take my eyes off, or was it red and yellow..? I have so many memories of fishing with him at that pond that they’ve all become one big pond themselves. Swirling around in my head, rippling in and out of focus.
Craving bigger waters, I live nearer to the ocean and he loved that for me. I have fewer memories with him at the beach. Which water was the pond and which was the sea? Was it murky and mossy? Or briny and windy? What did it sound like? Waves rolling or crickets humming? What did it smell like? Salt, Marlboro Reds, concrete dust, upturned earth.
These memories feel so slippery to me, much like trying to fish the polaroid emulsions out of the water. I want them to feel solid like the blocks that I carve, but they’re more like sand shifting in tides, never quite settled.
notes on process:
Polaroid Emulsion, is the dissection of the photograph. Separating multiple layers to extract the moment inside, then giving it a new surface on which to live.
Reduction Block Printing, unlike painting or drawing which are additive mediums, this requires your brain to work ‘backwards’, subtracting and carving away with each layer until the block is totally destroyed and the final image cannot be recreated. The practice is a good one in letting go.
Mixed Media Collage is my practice of connecting with pieces of my past, searching through all the discarded bits that I carry with me, a way to share what was, grieve, heal, and move on.
