ABOUT

hey, pal !!!

i’m mel — a poet, artist, and biology student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

growing up facing challenges like homelessness, food insecurity, and child abuse, i quickly turned to the arts to process my small world. 

artist statement

poetry was a part of me i kept tucked away until i became the first youth poet laureate of knoxville, tennessee— my hometown. i wrote two books: “to make it out alive,” and “thank you for staying,” and i witnessed first-hand the worlds poetry could move. it was like putting a face to something no one could name, a sacred universal language.

the same realization occurred with painting: in high school, my AP art portfolio scored in the top 10% of all submissions, a series of paintings i completed while homeless. i decided to continue pursuing both biology and studio art in college as my majors. shortly after beginning my degree, i was named the second youth poet laureate of tennessee.

my work is an ongoing dialogue of asking and answering, rooted in the intersection between biology and humanity. i gravitate towards loose, water-based media like watercolor and ink, which allow for fluidity and depth. through storytelling, symbolism, and community, i will forever be indebted to the arts for letting me see the unseen and say the unsaid.