Statement:

I examine themes of decline, regeneration and bloom by collaging large, mixed media paintings of scenes in nature. The cacophony and chaos of plant life represents our shared human experience of coping with a complex world where we are bombarded with information and beset with challenges. My aim is to create a utopic Garden of Eden for tomorrow out of the refuse of today.

I am drawn to the discarded – and through my use of recycled material I imbue my work with memory and human touch. I bring together incongruous fabrics with past lives: artists’ brush cleaning rags, mother-in-law’s blouse, cast off sheets from Salvation Army, plastic mesh bags from garlic bulbs, vintage linens and brightly colored fabric samples. I use direct painting, resist painting, block and screen printing methods to add pattern and color. My pieces are collaged using adhesives and stitching, then drawn on with thread. Sometimes I stretch my work over a frame to give the complexity of snippits a disciplined edge. Sometimes I leave the edges uneven, respecting the rag’s original form. The complexity of my work is both graphically compelling from a distance and draws viewers close engaging them in the sensual surface.

In my strong palette, “all over” imagery, and use of fabric, I owe a debt to the 1970‘s “Pattern and Decoration” movement. In my use of recycled clothing and of sewing construction I pay homage to the history of women patching together salvaged bits of fabric to make quilts -- creating art that intersects with craft. In my choice of using imagery from nature, I both explore and diverge from the formal elements of landscape painting.

Resume:

Upcoming Solo Exhibitions
ArtSpace Maynard, October 2010
The Center for Arts in Natick, December 2010
Arnold Arboretum, March 2010
Danforth Museum of Art, 2013

Selected Exhibitions:
2010
Off The Wall, Danforth Museum of Art, Jurors: Jen Mergel and Helen Molesworth, Framingham, MA
Northeast Prize Exhibition, Juror: Cheryl Brutvan, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge MA
Art From Detritus, Pure Light Gallery, Turners Falls, MA
Merill Comeau: Fiber Collage, Solo Exhibition, Concord Art Association, Concord, MA
2009
Roddy Open Competition, Concord Art Association, Concord, MA
RED, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA
Art Gone Green, BHCC Art Gallery, Bunker Hill Community College, Boston, MA
ArtSpace Artists Members’Exhibition, ArtSpace Gallery, Maynard, MA
Nature, Caladan Gallery
Artists in the Arboretum, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA
Art Walk Store Front Windows, COOL, Lowell, MA
Fabrications, ALL Gallery, Lowell, MA
Nothing New, Juror: Steve Aimone, Textile Center, Minneapolis, MN
Edge, Jurors: Dana Salvo and Dawn Southworth, Artspace Gallery, Maynard, MA
Mixed Media/Fiber, Curator: Jeanne Williamson, Danforth Museum, Framingham, MA
Solo Exhibition: Owen Smith Shuman Gallery, Groton Public Library, Groton, MA
2008
Members Prize Show, Juror: Nick Capasso, Cambridge Art Assoc, Cambridge, MA,
Craft USA, Juror: Gretchen Keyworth, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
A Fixed Point, Curator: Ilana Manalson, Traveling Invitational, Regis College Art Gallery, Weston, MA
Art in the Round Barn, Juried Exhibition, Green Mountain Cultural Center, Waitsfield, VT
Northeast Prize Show, Juror: Nicholas Baume, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA
Surface: Layered Juried Exhibition, Coconino Community College, Flagstaff, AZ
Plant Life Juried Exhibition, Caladan Gallery, Internet
Botanical Inspirations Invitational, Owen Smith Shuman Gallery, Groton Public Library, Groton, MA
Bloom Juried exhibition, Gallery 51, Mass. College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, MA
Women of the Cloth Juried exhibition, Bunker Hill Community College, Boston MA
Petal Pushers Juried Exhibition, Worcester Center for Crafts, MA
Clay and Fiber Juror: Dorothy Hughes, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
2007
Seek Alternative Roots Members Juried Exhibition, 119 Gallery, Lowell, MA
A Fixed Point: New Art from the Old North Bridge Invitational, Concord Art Assoc., MA
Members Juried II Juror: Lucy Lacoste, recipient Juror’s Award, Concord Art Association, MA

Residencies:
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont, February 2009

Commissions:
Schepens Eye Research Institute, 2010
Children’s Hospital, Boston, Summer 2009
Groton Public Library, Groton, MA, 2008
Children’s Hospital, Kent Street Residence, Boston, MA Spring 2009
First Parish in Concord, MA, 2008

Publications:
NorthWest Life Magazine, April 2010
Wild Apples: a journal of nature, art and inquiry, Fall 2009
100 Artists of New England, Schiffer Publishing, Spring 2010
1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse, Rockport Publishers, Fall 2009
Quilting Arts Magazine, Interweave Press, April/May 2009
Studio Visit, Open Studio Press, Juror: Carl Beltz, Fall 2008

Selected Community Projects:
NFI Massachusetts, Respite Program, After School Program

North Crossing, Newton, MA (teen therapeutic residence) community wall hanging. Exhibitions: Simmons School of Social Work, Simmons College, Boston, MA; , Corporate Offices Northeast Family Institute, Danvers, MA, Massachusetts State House, Mental Health Funding Breakfast, Boston, MA. Awards: Community Spirit Award, Northeast Family Institute, currently on view North Crossing residence.

Community Interventions Program, Arlington, MA (teen therapeutic residence) community wall hanging. Exhibitions: Arlington Center for the Arts, currently on view C.I.P. residence.

Spectrum Gay Straight Alliance, Concord Carlisle High School, Concord, MA “Tiger for Human Rights” wall hanging

The Faith Quilts Project: Kerem Shalom Intergenerational Dialogue wall hanging; First Parish in Concord “Go Out Into the World” Social Action Committee wall hanging; Keystone Montessori School Immigrant Hindu Mothers Community wall hanging. Exhibitions: “Faith, Arts and Community”, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA; Cloud Foundation, Boston, MA; Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; “Faith, Arts and Community” Peabody and Essex Museum, Salem, MA

Boston Haifa Early Childhood Connection, Self Portraits

Grants:
Massachusetts Cultural Council, Local Cultural Council grant: Concord
Massachusetts Cultural Council, Local Cultural Council grant: Groton
CCHS Parent Association for Spectrum Alliance

Professional Experience:
Exhibition Committee Member: Concord Art Association
Teacher: Arlington Center for the Arts
Artist Demo, Teacher, Concord Art Association
Founder: Artists Coaching Group
Facilitator/Instructor: “Making Art from Life”, Wright Center for Spiritual Renewal, Concord, MA and ArtSpace Studios, Maynard MA
Artist Talk: Regis College, Fixed Point Exhibition
Guest Lecturer: Endicott College Expressive Therapies Program Spring 2008
Artist Talk: Botanical Inspirations, Groton Public Library, 2008
Facilitator: North Crossing Parent Support Group, 2007-2008
Guest speaker: Legislative Breakfast, State House, Boston MA, Therapeutic Community Project, 2008
Guest speaker: Northeast Family Institute, Danvers, MA, Board Meeting, Therapeutic Community Project, 2008
Panelist: Department of Mental Health staff training, Safety, Risks and Rights, 2008
Panel Moderator: Artists Talk about Fixed Point, Concord Art Assocation, Concord, MA, 2007

Professional Affiliations:
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA
ArtSpace, Maynard, MA, studio resident
Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, member
Artist’s Professional Toolbox, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Fellow, Boston, MA
Surface Design Association, member

Education/ Work Experience:
2006-present Artist, Community Artist, Facilitator
2008-present Hands-On Construction, Design Consultant
1996-2006 Principal: Merill Comeau, Architectural Interiors
2005 Instructor: De Cordova Museum Cultural Summer Camp, West African art forms
Facilitator: Girls Art Group
2001-2004 Leader/mentor: Coming of Age Program, First Parish of Concord, MA
1990-1996 Freelance Designer
1986-1990 Designer: Dean, Tucker Shaw; Boston, MA; Robert Stein + Associates, Boston, MA
Student: Boston Architectural Center, Interiors and Architecture Programs
1985-1986 Apprentice: Antique Restoration, Cabinetry Workshop, Keller Woodworks, Willis, MA
1983-1984 Director of Operations, Dance Umbrella, Cambridge, MA
1981-1983 Assistant to Director, Fundraising Associate: Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
1978-1981 University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA: B.A. Social Theory and Political Economy
1977-1978 Dynamy Internship Program, Worcester, MA
1975-1977 Johnson State College, Johnson, Vermont

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