Melanie Spinks, Professional Artist and Speaker

GCTS Art Objectives

GCTS Art Objectives

An Austrian nobleman was expected to follow the family career in government leadership. Visiting an art gallery, he was utterly arrested by a painting. Stopping to take it in, the man beheld Jesus Christ crowned with thorns. Below were painted the words, “This I have done for you. What have you done for Me?” The man answered, “I will do more…” The young man was Count Zinzendorf who surrendered his life for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom. Zinzendorf used his wealth t

Antique Mirror as Art

Antique Mirror as Art

I'm working on some new pieces and wanted to post the first of a new antique mirror art theme. This work is called "Dreaming of An Unclouded Day" after the song. The dappled, patina'd silver is reminiscent of clouds with beautiful sky blue breaching through. This piece is about 36" x 35". The photo was taken in a courtyard and you can see me taking the photo as wel as the plants in the reflective surface. I feel as if I'm hitting my stride in silvering effects and hope to h

Giving God Control

Giving God Control

I have struggled with what it means to let the Kingdom of God reign over my art. God has been so gracious, so fulfilling, and so satisfying. Yet when it comes to art making, why the temptation to hold-back? Peter Kreeft rightly points out, We're all insane. Perhaps I fear that I’ll have to do those sentimental paintings of Sunday School, or produce the tchotchkes in the Christian stores. Perhaps I draw comparisons between working with God and many a well-intentioned collabo

Possible Commission! Drawings in Progress

Eyes to See God’s Glory

Eyes to See God’s Glory

Often I find myself mourning the fact that I didn’t keep a female cardinal feather found on a walk. There it was on an old quiet South Carolina road under the shade of low hanging oak trees and Spanish moss. The color complexity was too great for my eyes to comprehend. How could such a small space contain so many shades of pink to carmine, invading orange and dancing with grays at the same time? My walking partner commented on my silence. All I could express was that I wa

Saving a Casting Blow Out

Saving a Casting Blow Out

The client is coming Monday morning to sample the prototype. Therefore, we're casting on Friday just for the sake of making the whole process more stressful. Who needs margin for error? Freeing one cast from the shell reveals a backplate that is absolutely perfect! Remove the sprews and vents with an angle grinder, a little pneumatic sanding action, wire wheel, and buffer, and this piece is ready for plating. A photo of the good piece is shown below alongside of the cerami

Etching and Patination of Metals

Etching and Patination of Metals

Metals wear beautifully over time. Considering that most of the elements on the periodic table are metals, they readily engage in a wonderful interplay when placed with other elements. Much of my time in graduate school was spent working on ways to age metals, burying them in the dirt or salts and acids. Metals are quite responsive and any experimentation can bring exciting and unexpected results. My initial motivation was to make objects that look like artifacts. Out of th

Using the Lathe to Clean Up Your Castings

Using the Lathe to Clean Up Your Castings

Casting metals is a lot of work but with rewarding result. You foundry buffs know that clean up is a large part of the work, especially if you are going for precision geometrics. But master craft, James, let me in on a way to use the lathe for clean up that yeilded a quick, consistent finish. Allow me to give a word of appropriate warning. The lathe can be one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in the shop. Use with adequate training and healthy fear. In general, I

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Etching and Patination of Metals

Etching and Patination of Metals

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M. Spinks Art