{"id":2723,"date":"2014-02-04T21:13:06","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T11:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/?p=2723"},"modified":"2014-02-09T11:53:53","modified_gmt":"2014-02-09T01:53:53","slug":"artchat-blog-interview-42-melissa-gollan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/?p=2723","title":{"rendered":"ArtChat [Blog Interview #42] \u2013  Melissa Gollan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb_share_1\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 10px;\"><a name=\"fb_share\" type=\"icon_link\" share_url=\"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/?p=2723\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php\">Share<\/a><\/div><div><script src=\"http:\/\/static.ak.fbcdn.net\/connect.php\/js\/FB.Share\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/div><p><a title=\"Melissa Gollan\" href=\"http:\/\/www.redhillgallery.com.au\/MelissaGollan2014.html\" target=\"_blank\">Melissa Gollan\u00a0<\/a>is a Brisbane based contemporary artist who is exhibiting for the first time at Red Hill Gallery in February. Her work\u00a0is imaginative, quirky and slightly retro; capturing simple and joyful experiences through her love of all things vintage.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-MELISSA.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2750\" alt=\"Women-Of-Substance-MELISSA\" src=\"http:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-MELISSA.jpg\" width=\"760\" height=\"436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-MELISSA.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-MELISSA-300x172.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>AC:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Your quirky style has a <a title=\"Vintage\" href=\"http:\/\/www.weekendnotes.com\/vintage-retro-shops-paddington\/\" target=\"_blank\">vintage<\/a>\u00a0feel to it. What inspires you?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>MG: For as long as I can remember I have had a love for all things <a title=\"Vintage\" href=\"http:\/\/www.creativedrinks.com.au\/retro-metro-paddington\/\" target=\"_blank\">vintage<\/a>;\u00a0 whether it be rummaging through old <a title=\"antique stores\" href=\"http:\/\/www.paddingtonantiquecentre.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">antique stores<\/a> for fashion, old vinyl or quirky publications, I find I can get lost in that space for hours.\u00a0 I enjoy taking these older elements and re-creating them somewhat into a contemporary finished piece for today.\u00a0 My drive and personal inspiration to keep producing ever changing works and doing so much of what I love, I contribute to my younger late sister who taught me to \u2018never-give-up\u2019 on your dreams and your passion and to live every day to it\u2019s fullest.<\/p>\n<p><b>AC:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Describe your art in a sentence.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>MG: Primarily my past works have been completing extremely diverse commissions, and I like to think that this lends itself to me being able to offer clients the opportunity to purchase completed works or the ability to have something created to compliment their chosen space.<\/p>\n<p><b>AC:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What can\u2019t you live without?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>MG:\u00a0 I would have to say \u2018<a title=\"Music\" href=\"http:\/\/everguide.com.au\/brisbane\/music\/gigs-and-festivals\/\" target=\"_blank\">Music<\/a>.\u2019\u00a0 It is often that the creative lyrics of a song play a significant part in the inspiration of my work.<\/p>\n<p><b>AC:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Do you remember your first painting as a child<\/b>?<\/p>\n<p>MG: My first memory is of a painting I produced of <a title=\"Mickey Mouse\" href=\"http:\/\/disney.wikia.com\/wiki\/Mickey_Mouse \" target=\"_blank\">Mickey Mouse<\/a> at the age of about 5 and what I would say was my first truly significant art piece, a sculpture of a clown completed at about the age of 14.\u00a0 Perhaps I was drawn to the excitement and happiness that both these subjects projected to me at the time.<\/p>\n<p><b>AC:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What music do you listen to whilst you\u2019re working?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>MG: I listen to a diverse range of music depending on my mood and the style of work I am working on.\u00a0 At present though one of my favourites after attending <a title=\"Woodford Folk Festival\" href=\"http:\/\/www.woodfordfolkfestival.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Woodford Folk Festival<\/a>\u00a0 on <a title=\"New Year's Eve\" href=\"http:\/\/www.brisbanetimes.com.au\/queensland\/brisbane-new-years-eve-fireworks-to-be-biggest-ever-20131227-2zz73.html\" target=\"_blank\">New Year\u2019s Eve<\/a>, is a <a title=\"Folk Singer\/Songwriter\" href=\"http:\/\/www.palmcreek.com.au\/programme\/artists\/\" target=\"_blank\">Folk Singer\/Songwriter<\/a>\u00a0with the one of the most soulful voices, named <a title=\"Ange Takats\" href=\"http:\/\/www.angetakats.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">Ange Takats.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2745\" alt=\"Women-Of-Substance-01\" src=\"http:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-01.jpg\" width=\"760\" height=\"436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-01.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-01-300x172.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>AC:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Apart from art what is the next most creative thing you do?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>MG: I have recently taken up music again \u2013 The <a title=\"Cello\" href=\"http:\/\/www.animato.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">cello<\/a>\u00a0in particular.\u00a0\u00a0 I love the collaborative use of such a beautiful classical instrument and integrating it with modern music; in particular <a title=\"Indie Folk Music\" href=\"http:\/\/www.meetup.com\/Brisbane-Indie-Alternative-Music\/\" target=\"_blank\">indie folk music<\/a>.\u00a0I had the fortune to be asked by a good friend of mine recently if I would write him some lyrics for a song, which was again an extremely rewarding creative experience of expression.\u00a0 Ironically it happens to be being recorded on the same night of this exhibition launch &#8211; <a title=\"14th February\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thebutterflylounge.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">14th February<\/a>\u00a0at a live gig here in <a title=\"Brisbane\" href=\"http:\/\/www.visitbrisbane.com.au\/Travel\/Default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Brisbane<\/a>, by the <a title=\"Empresarios\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com.au\/#q=empresarios+brisbane\" target=\"_blank\">Empresario\u2019s,<\/a> which is really exciting!<\/p>\n<p><b>AC:\u00a0\u00a0Your work is dominated by large colour fields, how does colour affect you?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>MG: I believe that colour as much as subject matter can produce an array of emotions.\u00a0\u00a0 I returned from a trip to <a title=\"Europe\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lonelyplanet.com\/europe\" target=\"_blank\">Europe<\/a> last September and I found myself influenced to use a much broader and brighter colour palette in this series.\u00a0 Stopping and acknowledging how joyful and colourful our everyday surroundings can be is something that I wanted to express through these works.<\/p>\n<p><b>AC:\u00a0\u00a0What do you like doing when you\u2019re not painting?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>MG: When I am not painting I love being outdoors and on the water &#8211; At present I am loving paddle-boarding!\u00a0 I also enjoy discovering new live music artists and simply catching up with friends.<\/p>\n<p><b>AC:\u00a0 Share something about yourself which would surprise our readers.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>MG: I love pushing the boundaries and really want to learn the static <a title=\"trapeze\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cirquedusoleil.com\/en\/home\/shows\/.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">trapeze<\/a>! \u201cIt\u2019s never to late is it? \u201c<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Melissa Gollan\u00a0will be showing with three other\u00a0 talented female artists in a group exhibition <a title=\"Women of Substance\" href=\"http:\/\/www.redhillgallery.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Women of Substance&#8221;<\/a><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0at Red\u00a0Hill Gallery, Brisbane\u00a0from February 14 until Sunday March 3, 2014<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2746\" alt=\"Women-Of-Substance-2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-2.jpg\" width=\"760\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-2.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Women-Of-Substance-2-300x163.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"Red Hill Gallery\" href=\"http:\/\/www.redhillgallery.com.au\" target=\"_blank\">Red Hill Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"al2fb_like_button\"><div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n(function(d, s, id) {\n  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n  js = d.createElement(s); 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Her work\u00a0is imaginative, quirky and slightly retro; capturing simple and joyful experiences through her love of all things vintage. AC:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Your &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/?p=2723\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,4,63,19,8,43,159,20,30,24,13,36,6,186,187],"tags":[290,121,61,9,14,123,306,295,122,120,293,65,296,124,294,10,316,312,317],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2723"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2723"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2759,"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2723\/revisions\/2759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artchat.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}