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Melinda Byrd
 Melinda Byrd grew up in a tradition-rich
community of New England where she learned both art and craft
from her artist-inventor grandfather. She studied and became
proficient in rya rug design and making hand-carved signs.
Sketching "essence of life and
movement" filled dozens of her sketchbooks. Her dual passions
in life – nature and art — led her on a career as a park
ranger in Colorado and as a naturalist and Environmental
Education facility manager in Maryland. Yet she constantly
experimented in the arts finding joy in creating with various
materials: wood, wool, walls, canvas, paper, glass, and more
unconventional media.
As one who loves to learn more about
life and art in all forms, Melinda Byrd continually has taken
classes through local colleges, adult education programs, and
private studios since she was a child. Her favorite classes
include Nature Drawing, silk-screen printing, Traditional New
England Sign Carving, Life drawing, Dying Wool with Herbs,
Drawing Hands, Celtic Knot Carving, Watercolor painting,
Pastels, Oil Painting, and Drawing with Colored Pencils. As a
born naturalist, she has also enjoyed hundreds of classes,
hikes, lectures, and hands-on experiences relating to nearly
every form of natural history. You'll notice that nature is a
recurring theme throughout her work--her way of sharing her
love of nature with others.
Today she has left her 9-5 job and
become a full-time artist. Byrdcall Studio was the reply to
the calling. In 2005-2006, her husband,
John, built a REAL studio in their backyard in Woodbine, MD so
Byrdcall Studio truly has a structural existence. When she is
not creating in the studio, Melinda can be found tending to
her gardens, brewing her own beer, playing with the dog, or
cooking up a new dish.
New Studio under construction. |
New studio completed! |
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