Biography

Solo Exhibitions

2018

Love Magic -- Vertigo Coffee Roasters, San Juan Bautista CA

Melissa West: Printmaker -- Resource Center for Nonviolence, Santa Cruz CA

2017
Steamed Up! --Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz CA

2014
Art in the Library --Napa County Library, Main Branch, Napa CA
Selected Work --Peet's Coffee & Tea, Santa Cruz CA

2013
Dreaming in Color --Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, Santa Cruz CA

2012
A Long Road in the Sun --Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz CA
Explorations --Coffeetopia on Mission, Santa Cruz CA

2011
Signs & Wonders --The Abbey Coffee Lounge, Santa Cruz CA

2010
Tales of a Traveler --Creative Framing & Gallery, Oakland CA
Transported --Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, Santa Cruz CA
Fairy Tales --Simpkins Swim Center, Santa Cruz CA

2009
Collateral --Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz CA
Inked --Seabright Storefront Gallery, Santa Cruz CA

2008
Paso a Paso: Prints from the Camino de Santiago --Cafe 2223, San Francisco CA
Bay Area Landscapes --Embarcadero Branch, Oakland Public Library, Oakland CA
New Paintings --Butch 'n' Nellie's Coffee Shop, Sacramento CA

2007
Paso a Paso: Prints from the Camino de Santiago
Alma Gifts & Culture, Santa Cruz CA
Rockridge Public Library, Oakland CA
Butch 'n' Nellie's Coffee Shop, Sacramento CA
California Landscapes --Mill Valley Community Center, Mill Valley CA

2006
California Landscapes, California Dreamscapes --Crepeville 3, Sacramento CA
Yosemite: Studies in Black & White --Squat & Gobble Café, San Francisco CA

2003
Recent Paintings --Boadecia's Books, Kensington CA

Group Exhibitions

2022
Pathways -- Art Ark, San Jose CA
Art on the Edge: from Extraction to Restoration and Regeneration 2 -- Peninsula Museum of Art, San Bruno CA

2021
450 Pieces -- Radius Gallery, Santa Cruz CA
Traces -- Danville Art Gallery, Danville CA

2020
Women Eco Artists Dialog: The Legacy of Jo Hanson -- Yolo Arts, The Barn Gallery, Woodland CA

2019
Human/Nature -- Resource Center for Nonviolence, Santa Cruz CA
Vote! Your Vote is Your Voice -- Pajaro Valley Arts, Watsonville CA
Masters of Santa Cruz -- Stockwell Cellars, Santa Cruz CA

2018
ARRT & the Pursuit of Hope -- Resource Center for Nonviolence, Santa Cruz CA
Climart -- Academy of Art University Cannery Galleries, San Francisco CA
What Nourishes Us --Pajaro Valley Arts Council, Watsonville CA
SPOKEN/UNSPOKEN: Art as Response/Artist as Catalyst --Porter College Faculty Gallery, UCSC, Santa Cruz CA

2017
Resistfest -- presented by Indivisible, Santa Cruz CA
Local Artists Present --Salud Para la Gente, Watsonville CA
California Society of Printmakers 104th Annual Exhibit --Piedmont Center for the Arts, Piedmont CA

2016
Ink | Paper | Print --Felix Kulpa Gallery, Santa Cruz CA
PRINTED! --Santa Cruz Public Library, Santa Cruz CA
Home --Pajaro Valley Arts Council, Watsonville CA
Print Mint --The JanRae Community Art Gallery at Women’s Cancer Resource Center, Oakland CA
California Society of Printmakers 103rd Annual Exhibit --Piedmont Center for the Arts, Piedmont CA

2015
Streams, Rivers, Bay to Sea: Water - An Essential Element -- Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz CA
Pressing Matters VI --San Geronimo Valley Community Center, San Geronimo CA
Of Ink and Poetry -- Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove CA

2014
Pressing Matters V --San Geronimo Valley Community Center, San Geronimo CA
Printmaking On & Off the Wall --Pajaro Valley Arts Council, Watsonville CA
Impressed: The Printed Mark --Felix Kulpa Gallery, Santa Cruz CA

2013
Only Lino --Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz CA
Myths, Lies, & Legends --Felix Kulpa Gallery, Santa Cruz CA
Roosters and Hens --Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz CA

2012
California Centered --Merced Multicultural Arts Center, Merced CA
Traces, Marks, and Fragments --San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo CA
4th Annual 50-50 Show --Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica CA
Interior Monologues: Views into the Artist's Mind --Pájaro Valley Gallery, Watsonville CA
Natural Affinities --The Abbey Coffee Lounge, Santa Cruz CA

2011
The MPC Printmakers in Moss Landing: New Work at La Galeria --La Galeria Gallery, Moss Landing CA
Multiples –-Pacific Art League, Palo Alto CA
Inked Up --Felix Kulpa Gallery, Santa Cruz CA
Multiples –-Pájaro Valley Gallery, Watsonville CA

2010
Los Pajaros --Pájaro Valley Gallery, Watsonville CA
(Untitled) --Santa Cruz County Government Building, Santa Cruz CA

2009
In Memoriam: Women’s Lives Taken by Violence --Signature Salon, Frank Bette Center for the Arts, Alameda CA
Beasts on Broadway --Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz CA

2008
Three Artists --Towne Center, Alameda CA
Untitled --Cafe Arrivederci, San Rafael CA

2007
Best Seller's Showcase --Frank Bette Center for the Arts, Alameda CA
Visual Voices --ArtworkSF Gallery, San Francisco CA

2006
Conversations with the Goddess --Frank Bette Center for the Arts, Alameda CA
Us vs. Them --Blow Gallery, Berkeley CA
Art Hell --ArtworkSF Gallery, San Francisco CA
Catching the Light --Frank Bette Center for the Arts, Alameda CA
Other Worlds, Other Realms --Hotel Triton, San Francisco CA
Conversations in Color: Monochrome --Polarity Post Productions, San Francisco CA

2005
19th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibit --Emeryville CA
Smoke, Lilies & Jade --Women's Cancer Resource Center Gallery, Oakland CA
The Blues --Frank Bette Center for the Arts, Alameda CA

2004
Works on Paper --Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz CA
18th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibit --Emeryville CA
Mystical, Magical, Mythical --Frank Bette Center for the Arts, Alameda CA
Picture Progress --Trax Gallery Space, Berkeley CA
Arts on Fire --Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica CA
ArtWalk --Embarcadero Center, San Francisco CA
ArtSF 3rd Anniversary Show --ArtSF Gallery, San Francisco CA
Female2 --Balazo Gallery/Mission Badlands, San Francisco CA
We Like It Dirty --Heritage Square Building, Emeryville CA

2003
Artists by Nature --Women's Cancer Resource Center Gallery, Oakland CA
Woman's Work --Prescott Joseph Center, Oakland CA

Honors & Recognition

2011 & 2021 Nominee, Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz CA

Film Placement

2004 Bee Season, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Publications

2018 Love Magic: A Handbook of Spells, Charms, and Potions Wellfleet Press --50 block print illustrations

2016 Witchcraft: A Handbook of Magic Spells and Potions Wellfleet Press --50 block print illustrations

2011 Pilgrimage Magazine Action & Rest; Volume 36, Issue 1, May --cover art

2011 Pilgrimage Magazine Between the Living & the Dead; Volume 35, Issue 3, January

2010 Sparring with Beatnik Ghosts Anthology #5, October 2010

Affiliations

Gallery 125 at The Tannery, Santa Cruz CA

California Society of Printmakers

WEAD, Women Environmental Artists Dialog

Education

1980 B.A. in Studio Art, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley MA