In Conversation with Melia Fernandez
What first inspired you to begin making art, and how has your creative journey evolved since then?
My artmaking began when I was a kid. I grew up making all kinds of things. Friendship bracelets, polymer clay charms with my older sister and cousin, knitted and crocheted pieces, sewn projects, handmade jewelry, watercolor paintings, and drawings. As an ’05 kid, I grew up with YouTube, which introduced me to endless creative activities and DIY projects.
These tactile activities became a refuge for me. From kindergarten through middle school, Since then, ceramics have become the center of my artistic practice. My work has evolved from simply making things I found beautiful or interesting into exploring ideas of ritual, care, nature, and quiet attention through sculptural and functional vessels. The instinct is still the same one I had as a child: to sit down, work with my hands, and see where making takes me.
Your work strongly emphasizes flowers, color, and the possibilities of glaze. How do clay, color, texture, and surface influence how you develop an image and communicate meaning? How does the act of working with clay shape the final direction of the work?
Clay gives me a way to explore imagery through both form and surface. I’m especially drawn to flowers because of their delicacy, but I like contrasting that delicacy with the weight and permanence of clay. My orchid motifs are built in relief, so they cast shadows and create their own sense of depth across the surface of a piece.
For me, the final piece is a collaboration between intention and discovery. I begin with an idea, but the clay, the glaze, and the firing process all have a voice in what the work ultimately becomes.
Can you walk us through your creative process? What inspires you to begin a new piece or project, and how does that initial idea evolve as you work?
I work very much on a whim. Rather than trying to control every stage of the process, I let the material, the form, and my own intuition guide me. This spontaneity is what allows me to create different iterations of my recurring motifs while keeping each piece feeling distinct and alive. The finished work often becomes something I couldn’t have completely envisioned at the beginning and that element of surprise is one of my favorite parts of making.
How do you hope viewers connect with the themes and ideas explored through your work?
I hope viewers feel invited to slow down and spend time with my pieces. I intend for them to be experienced through touch as well as sight to notice the raised orchid motifs, carved textures, and changes in the surface as they move around the form.
I think a lot about composition and rhythm while I work: how a carved section of negative space wraps around a vase, where the orchid motif begins and ends, and how these elements interact with the overall silhouette. I want each part of the piece to encourage the eye and the hand to keep exploring.
Ultimately, I want my pieces to feel entrancing. In a world that can move so quickly, I hope they offer a small invitation to pause, appreciate beauty, and give something your undivided attention.
Are there specific artists or influences that have shaped the way you approach painting and making? Who are they?
During my studies in Art History, I found myself especially drawn to the femininity and ornamentation of Art Nouveau. Its diffused colors, organic lines, floral imagery, and touches of gold have influenced the glazes I’m drawn to and the way I approach my orchid motifs. I’m interested in the way Art Nouveau allows natural forms to become stylized and decorative without losing their sense of delicacy.
I’m also influenced by the materiality and stylized energy of Art Deco and Catalan Modernisme architecture. I think about these influences less as specific elements to reproduce and more as ways of thinking about composition how forms can interact with one another, how ornament can become part of a structure, and how a surface can feel immersive.
