Melanie Johnson is an artist and an educator. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Melanie earned a BFA from Missouri State University (2003) and an MFA from the Henry Radford School of Art at Indiana University, Bloomington (2006). She is currently Professor of Painting and Drawing at University of Central Missouri. Her large scale charcoal drawings recall sensory and emotional connections to animals and the natural landscape. She lives in Prairie Village, Kansas with her son and many pets.

“I am thrilled to be the recipient of a Studios Inc Residency and I am looking forward to being able to focus on the next level of my studio practice in such an amazing space. My recent drawings explore my relationships with animals and Midwestern ecosystems. I am particularly interested in translating my large scale works on paper to iterations in painting and other media over the course of my residency, and I would like to continue researching both narrative structure and the relationship between constructed imagery and dioramas. I am grateful to be provided time and space for this exploration, and I am very excited to be immersed in a supportive community of working artists.”