Nancy Mellon is a multi media artist happily living and creating in the art community of Yellow Springs, Ohio.  From 2006-2009 she has gotten into some wonderful art mischief in partnership with artist Corrine Bayraktaroglu.  They created and curate one of the wackiest venues for an art gallery in the world, (yep- it was touted as that in newspaper articles, on radio shows, on the internet and in TV shows all over the world).  The Chamber Pot Gallery is in the public restrooms of the Yellow Springs Train Station.  As Corrine says, “It’s a Loo with a View.”

As part of the Jafagirls, an eclectic group of women artists,  Mellon has brought to the community of Yellow Spring a series of offbeat projects, starting with the Art Ball Machine and then branching out to a series of public art projects — the Knit Knot Tree (a real tree in front of the local coffee shop, that we covered in bright swathes of knitted yarn and added pockets filled with jokes, poems, gifts, and pictures) which garnered a lot of community joy and international attention over a dreary, grey winter;  the Textile Totems Project has all the poles, some of the benches and some of the trees on Dayton Street covered in yarn knitting, plastic bag knitting, embroidered felt, Camo Barbies, plaster cast noses and other stuff.   The Dayton St. Project is to bring people over to the Dark Side of Town (which is what Nancy likes to call it, there literally are less lights on this side of town and we are funkier too!)

The Jafagirls have an ongoing project of peppering the town with Free-found Art.  So keep your eyes peeled when coming for a visit to Yellow Springs, Ohio, you might find some free art.

Nancy also works in traditional mediums of canvas and clay, but from there she takes off to where ever her fancy leads her.  Currently she is covering recycled things with intricate patterns in felt.   Her work can be routinely found at Village Artisans, a 27-year-old art co-op, located at 100 Corry Street in Yellow Springs.

“Nancy—you are such an advocate of Yellow Springs in the way you greet customers. Not only are you friendly to everyone who comes in, but you interact with everyone and find out what they’re about so you can address their needs. Your helpful suggestions about things to do, places to go, and places to eat in YS are exactly what I expect from a  YS store owner or front desk/customer service person. I’m positive that your input and friendliness and enthusiasm adds to your customers’ enjoyment of the town and that they will remember Village Artisans in a positive way—as not only a place to go for artwork but  a place to go to get good information about interesting things to see and do and a place where they will be greeted in a warm, friendly, and  hospitable manner. You’re like a satellite site of the Chamber of Commerce. It was a pleasure to watch you and listen to you engage with customers while I was having fun with the Artist Trading Cards workshop.”
Susan