By Mel Bryant
Artful Origins
I grew up in the woods; building stick forts with my siblings, collecting toads in ice cream buckets, looking at cranes and wood ducks through binoculars, and scavenging for nuts and pinecones for our potions. Looking back, I recall the 1980s having had so many more insect species, and one of my most favorite finds was a Hickory Horned Devil (or Regal Moth caterpillar).
It just so happened that I also really enjoyed drawing and made a series of wildflower books in the second grade. It took years for these two interests to really cross paths. The first time was in tenth-grade Biology where the teacher required students to copy textbook diagrams with our notes. This was unpopular with most of the class, but I was surprised to find how much it resonated with me (and allowed me to discover a love of colored pencils!). It facilitated a new method of retaining knowledge other than simply reading words and studying pictures on a page. I focused on art classes in high school and there was no doubt in my mind that it was my path forward.
I spent four-and-a-half years obtaining a double major in painting and drawing at Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis right after graduation. The work I created at that time was surprisingly abstract and moody—a fair representation of a young person navigating early adulthood and living in a city! Motherhood came next and naptime was reserved for art-making.
Inspiring Humans and Insatiable Learning
A few years later, having reconnected to nature with my children, an insatiable need for learning grew. I took an Indiana Master Naturalist class and volunteered with a couple land trusts. I began following some very inspiring humans on nature-based social media accounts and knew I needed to get involved.
This is where the next instance of art and nature crossed paths for me. I created “Moths of the Midwest” in 2017 as a gift to those aforementioned humans and I instantly knew that this was what I was supposed to do.
The more I was out on a trail, the more nature fed me. I wanted to learn everything! I was on a quest to be a better identifier and looked to the past for how I learned best. I started drawing more from research photos and dusting off the colored pencils felt incredible. I shared the moth print with friends and I saw that some really connected to it. The first few collection pieces I did (spring ephemerals, ferns, prairie, and wetland) took off and the business was born in 2021.
To this date, I’ve illustrated nearly 3000 flora, fauna, fungi, etc. species and have no plans of stopping! I have made collections of species by habitat, color, order/family, flora and fauna associations and more. It has truly helped me learn what I find out in the world and sharing my work has helped many others do the same.
Adding the education component to my art has been very fulfilling. One of my absolute favorite things is when people approach my work in my brightly-colored booth at an art show or nature conference. When I get to see their faces light up as they connect with a Barred Owl sticker or White Oak association print or even an Indiana state gradient tote it means the absolute world to me. I love the stories they share, the places they recommend I explore, the dreams of young people wanting to do the same. I am incredibly lucky to do what I love.
To the Aspiring Creatives…
My advice for people looking to get creative is, start small! Rediscover those old paint swatches from the hardware store, take them outside with you, and see if you can find those colors on a hike. Make collages out of old nature magazines. Find a little sketchbook and do a little drawing every day. Or every week. There are lots of nature crafting and drawing books out there; flip through one for inspiration!
Lastly, I’d love to share a neat story! When my oldest son was small, he became absolutely obsessed with birds. It was incredible to see him feed his own hunger for knowledge by checking out bird books from the library, staying engaged at the handful of bird meetups we attended, and collaborating on a fun project we started sometime in 2016, when he was a preteen. Named “Floravian”, we took a plant and a bird species and found at least one commonality among them. Then, I illustrated the species and put together the info as a print. We only ever made ten or so, but what fun we had!
Editor’s note- connect with Mel and explore her art pieces for sale through her website www.melbryarts.com, on Facebook at Melbry//art, or email her at mel.bryant@hotmail.com.
