Stutts studied Art and Design at Appalachian State University before working professionally as an art director and designer. Although she has had several love affairs with various mediums over her career, she was introduced to encaustic around 2014 and was hooked immediately.

"Working with encaustic I create graphic ecosystems by embedding unexpected materials inside many layers of wax. This construction of a suspended reality enables me to investigate complex themes around mental health, personal discipline, and sustainability. Layer by layer, I build up an environment of various mediums presented as simple shapes, to represent the beauty of chaos in our lives and our ability to find peace with it. My compositions aim to untangle these universal webs while encouraging reflection, conversations, and constant reevaluation of our realities.
I build these graphic ecosystems by layering non-traditional materials within an ancient medium. Finely ground metals, prints of plastic trash, and botanicals are preserved in a cloudy, almost dreamlike encaustic case. The inclusion of the objects in the melting of the wax represents the duality of building and destroying at the same time.  It is my way of honoring and trying to understand the complicated nature of being human in the modern day. Reminding myself and the viewer that we are infinite beings, despite being flesh and bone. We can burn brightly next to each other while we hide our deepest emotions and wrestle with connectedness."
Studio portrait by Emily Chidester.

IN THE NEWS >>

 

Local Artist, Melissa Stutts Paints with Fire; April 2024. Photo by Adam Whitlow.
Charlotte Magazine



Meet Melissa Stutts; March 2024. Photo by Logan Cryus.
Rebel Canvas



ArtPop Street Gallery Class of 2022



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