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| Above is from a series of works Melissa Kistler created during a class focused on imagery in glass at The Corning Museum of Glass in New York. |
In the new post-studio glass landscape, content driven artwork continues to evolve. Often people struggle to tell a story with their artwork, and as artists, work at connecting to the viewer with personal narratives integrated into their work. For this Veterans Day we feature one artist’s successful series that draws from her family story.
Glass artist Melissa Kistler was born and raised in a small rural community in northeastern Pennsylvania. As the daughter of a Master Gunnery Sergeant of the Marine Corps, her work draws from the overlapping spheres of family, the military, and home.
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| Melissa Kistler; “Mother, Daughter” detail; mirror, print |
Utilizing nostalgic references to childhood and memory, she delves into the phenomena of collective identity and the fluidity of the self. Melissa’s work is informed by sociological studies of identity and the military and cultural representations of family and military membership.
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| Melissa Kistler; “Sailors”mirrored glass, print |
Melissa earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a concentration in glass from Tyler School of Art at Temple University. She was a recipient of a Creative Arts, Research, and Scholarship Grant from Temple University and has continued her education at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York as a scholarship student.
She has shown her work in numerous galleries nationally, and recently had her work included in the IGAA exhibit ” The GATHERING: Contemporary Glass from the Heartland,” which opened Oct. 19 at the Indiana University Kokomo Art Gallery. Melissa currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she continues her work.