Melanie S.

Someplace
Credit: Melanie S.Artist Bio

Melanie is currently completing her Master’s in Art Therapy at Lewis & Clark and is an art therapy intern with Providence at one of their hospital-based adult inpatient psychiatric units. She is passionate about working with adults in crisis and finding new and creative ways to integrate artmaking into safety planning and suicide prevention.

Melanie is inspired by person-centered, strengths-based, and community-based approaches to therapy, and by the work of those in helping professions who support others every day. After graduation, Melanie hopes to continue working in crisis stabilization, supporting adults of all ages as well as those in helping roles who may experience vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue through their work with people in crisis.

Artist Statement

Someplace was inspired by my favorite art therapy drawing assessment: “Create an image of a bridge going from some place to some other place.” This assessment is personally meaningful because of its focus on transition, choice, and future orientation. The bridge drawing can offer a powerful metaphor for people who have recently experienced a major life change, which is common in the population I work with.

It was important to me that creating this piece would support my own well-being. I elected to use yarn and fabric because crafting with these materials is regulating and self-soothing for me. The two sculptural environments grew organically during quiet crafting sessions, often in the early morning before my internship or in the evenings after work. The repeating, meditative motions of making pom-poms, sewing, and latch-hooking created space for my mind to unwind and integrate the intensity of my clinical experiences.

Together, these elements form a piece that reflects the slow, nonlinear process of moving from one place to another. The mossy forms and soft textures echo the tentative steps, pauses, and renewals that often accompany major life transitions. The contrast between organic yarn sculptures and carefully sewn cloth backings highlights the piece’s central duality: the meeting of intentional structure with emergent, intuitive growth. In its own way, Someplace mirrors the resilience and vulnerability I witness every day in crisis care.