I am a visual artist who creates sculptures and paintings which are an emotional response to the environment around me. It helps that I live near the sea in North County Dublin, as it is a place of inspiration as well as being a source of some of the materials for my sculptures. When I walk the beach I feel a visceral connection to the land. Colour also plays an important role in my paintings as I believe in the power of colour and nature to energise and restore.

In the 90's, I obtained a degree in Fine Art from Technical University Dublin ( DIT) and a higher diploma in Art Craft and Design Education from the National College of Art and Design. I also hold further qualifications in graphic origination and Special and Inclusive education from Queens University, Belfast. Teaching in a school and creating my own art gives me the best of both worlds because I do enjoy interacting with and positively influencing my students, but still able maintain my own private fine art practice.

Although my work is representational, my pieces are not anatomically precise sculptures of birds or realistic paintings of landscapes, but rather a response and celebration of vibrancy and energy.

Over the past two years, I have sold sculptures and paintings online through my Instagram feed. I also had work selected for the Sculpture in Context exhibition in the Botanical Gardens Dublin in 2019, and I am working on a new garden bird series. You can view some some of my process on my Instagram feed , @melmci. I also have prints of some of my paintings available for purchase.