By Bill MacMillan
If you spend any time in Worcester you have probably seen Melinda Lee’s artwork: a painting in the lobby of Piercing Emporium, photos hanging in an area coffeehouse, collages and prints at stART on the Street, poems performed at the Poets’ Asylum. Lee’s artwork has quickly woven itself into the fabric of the city’s underground art scene. Not a bad accomplishment for a 20 year old recovering addict.
Melinda Lee’s journey began in Long Beach, CA, where she was first inspired by the street art of her hometown. “My first introduction to art was through the graffitied walls,” Lee says. “Most of it was gang-related, but I remember being fascinated by the intricate weaving of letters and its overall fluidity.”
By the age of 13, she was already creating art, but addiction sidetracked her creativity. “I moved to the east coast in 2004. I began using drugs soon after, and quickly became enveloped in that lifestyle. I claimed that it enhanced my artistic ability. In reality, it crippled not just me, but my muse.”
In January of 2007, Melinda began her journey to sobriety, eventually using her experiences with addiction to become a residential drug-treatment counselor. She also began creating artwork again, pouring both her past hardships and her budding queer identity into her works. “I began identifying myself as queer. I found it tremendously empowering to establish myself as such within a culture that for a long time, I felt isolated from,” Lee shares.
This new identity, as well as a need to promote her artwork, led to the creation of Queer Riot Art. An online gallery and journal, Queer Riot Art is a view into both the artwork and creative process of a young woman building a solid identity while trying to embrace the community around her. “Initially, I started Queer Riot Art to develop an undeniable foundation for my queer themed art,” Lee explains. “Now, I see it as a necessary mechanism for the advancement of the queer community as a whole.”
This optimistic drive shows in Melinda Lee’s newer works. Her recent paintings are rich in color and texture. Rainbow imagery, a hallmark of Lee’s paintings, is still present, but now in a much more uplifting way. There is lightness and (dare I say) joy to much of Lee’s newer pieces that reflects the artist’s much brighter outlook. But painting is far from her only focus right now. “I prefer working with paints. Yet I go through binges with all media. As of late, I’ve been dabbling with collage.”
It is not often that one gets to watch an artist evolve from humble beginnings to proud creator firsthand. This is your chance to do just that.
Check out Queer Riot Art at www.melindalee.org.