How this painter uses fabric and wax to question the body

This interview sits down with Pittsburgh-based artist Melanie Vera to discuss the questions that have guided her since childhood: what the body is doing, what the mind is doing, and why they often feel slightly out of sync. Throughout our conversation, she walks us through the experiences that shaped her curiosity, from the hospital stories she grew up hearing at the dinner table to the health challenges that taught her to pay close attention to the skin she lives in.

Vera discusses why she chooses fabric, wax, hair, and worn bits of paper, and how these materials enable her to create pieces that initially appear familiar but gradually shift into something stranger the longer you spend with them. She explains how her slow, hands-on approach to working becomes its own kind of thinking session, one stitch or layer at a time, with no rigid map for where the piece will ultimately end up.

She also shares how managing a gallery changed the way she sees the life of an object once it leaves the studio. That experience taught her to consider the room around a piece, the path a viewer takes, and the conversation that forms between work and audience. It is a way of seeing that steadies her both as a maker and as someone arranging exhibitions for others.

The move from Bel Air to Pittsburgh is still unfolding for her, bringing more conversation with other makers and more chances to rethink what she’s doing, even if it leaves her with less uninterrupted studio time. What comes through most clearly in her answers is her interest in how people register their bodies in space, how many thoughts hum beneath awareness, and how quickly those signals get overlooked. If there is something she hopes follows people out of the gallery, it is a heightened sense of attention to the small, often unnoticed negotiations between body and mind.

Melanie Vera is a featured artist in our book, “Art and Woman 2025” You can explore her journey and the stories of other artists by purchasing the book here:

https://shop.artstoheartsproject.com/products/art-and-woman-edition-

Melanie Vera was born and raised in Bel Air, Maryland, making the move to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the end of 2022. She earned a BFA in Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design and an MA in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University. Her work, a culmination of collage, found materials, fabrics, and paints, focuses on the human body in both physical and ethereal senses. Vera is now the Gallery Manager at Mark Rengers Gallery, which has provided her the opportunity to engage with a variety of artists and art appreciators. She has recently begun exhibiting her work around Pittsburgh, creating pieces in her new studio space at home.

1.      Your work often looks at how the mind and body connect—or sometimes don’t. What first made you curious about that relationship?    

I think it really all started when I would hear my parents’ stories of working in the hospital. My mother was a bedside nurse at the time, and my father worked in the labs. They would tell these wild, disgusting stories about gunshot wounds, loose fingers, and tumors. I was engrossed by the human body, but wanted to understand more than what was just on the surface, literally and figuratively. That’s when I began asking questions about not just how the body works, but why the body works as it does. The brain controls so much that we do not fully understand, and not just in the physical sense of muscles and nerves, but also in memory and subconscious processes.

“I was engrossed by the human body, but wanted to understand more than what was just on the surface, literally and figuratively.

Melanie Vera

2.     You use such varied materials as fabric, wax, and even human hair. What draws you to those textures and objects when you start building a piece?  

The versatility and softness of these materials are something I want to maintain throughout my pieces. I do not want my work to feel harsh, visually or physically, but to have a soft, welcoming appeal to it. On the other hand, I want these familiar materials to convey a sense of unease – hence the inclusion of human hair. I love to use a variety of media in my work to achieve different moments and vignettes, allowing people to draw nearer and dissect.

3.      Your process sounds very tactile and patient, involving sewing, painting, and layering. What does that slow, hands-on process mean to you while you’re creating?  

This is a crucial aspect of my art-making process. Although it may be slow and tedious, the repetitive processes of stitching, knotting, and painting are all essential to the development of my work and thought process. For me, art is not so much about the final piece – it is about the process of making. I can spend hours hand-sewing or looping threads to tackle just a few inches of the piece. I also don’t really plan my paintings or sculptures; instead, I let the process guide me in new directions. By taking my time and working patiently, I allow changes and unpredictability to unfold.

4.      Having experience both managing a gallery and showing your own work, how has seeing things from both sides shaped the way you approach exhibitions?  

This is a great question. I admit I see myself as a curator first and artist second, which there is no shame in stating. When creating, the artist-side of me always asks, “What am I trying to say?”, while the curator-side of me asks, “How will this be received in a physical space for viewers?” I find that striking a balance between both perspectives is beneficial for both my art-making and exhibition-making, as I want to ensure I am staying true to the artists’ intentions when curating an exhibition, while still creating an engaging narrative for gallery visitors.

I want these familiar materials to relay a sense of unease, which creates small moments for people to draw nearer and dissect.

Melanie Vera

5.      Moving from Bel Air to Pittsburgh must have brought new surroundings and energy. Have those changes found their way into your work or the way you create?  

I can’t say for sure if this move has brought changes to my practice. While I am definitely surrounded by more creatives, visiting more exhibitions, and involved in the arts in my daily work, I have less time on my hands to actually get in the studio. I think only time will tell on this one… But to answer, yes, I find myself having more inspiration and opportunities for critique, which is something I lacked in Bel Air.

6.    Many of your pieces seem to make people aware of their own bodies in unexpected ways. What do you hope someone feels or thinks about after standing in front of your work?  

I have a thousand answers to this question, but to am more aware. To be more aware of the physical space we take up in the world, to be more aware of our thought processes and subconscious whisperings, to be more aware of how limiting and insignificant our bodies truly are. To know that, when it really comes down to it, we are all the same. Our bodies are just vessels – beautiful, awkward, uncomfortable, grotesque, changing ships – but it is what we do with our minds that makes us unique and gives us meaning.

Talking with Melanie Vera gives a clearer sense of what her work circles around. She studies the body with steady curiosity, not just as a physical structure but as a place where thoughts drift, collide, and sometimes separate from what the body is actually doing. Her pieces sit between comfort and discomfort, shaped by materials that feel familiar yet slightly off.

Hearing about her background, her slow studio routines, and her transition to a new city reveals how her practice has evolved through steady observation rather than sudden leaps. What we take away from her journey is the value of paying attention to the smallest cues, the forgotten corners of memory, and the quiet ways people move through space. Her work leaves us with a nudge to notice ourselves a bit more closely and consider how much we miss in passing.

To learn more about Melanie, click the following links to visit her profile.

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