Having been born and raised in rural Ohio in the United States, Melissa Finkenbiner has now lived and created art in the US, Myanmar, Armenia, Zimbabwe, and Japan. As a cross-disciplined fine artist and metalsmith, all of Melissa's work is linked by recycled and sustainable materials with earthy elements.
In her work as a metalsmith, she repurposes vintage silver and copper, or uses recycled metals, including brass. In other works, Melissa uses a variety of materials, sometimes combining ink with plant-based acrylic, undiluted watercolor, conte, and pastels. Most notably, she uses discarded surfaces from glass bottles to tree bark, or sustainable papers from bamboo and recycled pulp. Sustainable practices are at the heart of her process and her packaging.
Over the past 12 years, Melissa has had 21 gallery exhibitions including her 2023 solo show “Elements of Nature Between Skyscrapers” in Ginza, Tokyo. In 2019, the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies program purchased three of her mixed media portraits for U.S. Embassy Harare in Zimbabwe.
https://www.melissafinkenbiner.com
https://www.instagram.com/melissafinkenbiner
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