finding my footing / new url

hey y'all i haven't really used this blog in forever and only ever did sporadically, but i feel like i've been in a chrysalis the last few years and am slowly starting to emerge updating the url for this blog was important to me as i'm not going by melina as much these days. i still like that name a lot and don't plan on fully getting rid of it, but it doesn't hold the full of me on its own, so i've also been going by max! you can also call me just m or mk too if you want. so what am i up to? well i'm in library school! i've been working towards getting my master's in library science with the hope of becoming an archivist or special collections librarian. really i'd be happy in any cultural heritage position or anything relating to libraries or museums in general. in 2022 my partner and i moved back to Kentucky which has been hard but wonderful and we bought a house we share with their dad. it's a work in progress (what isn't?) and a fixer upper but i love the home we're making here.

do i still make art? yeah. not as much as i want to but it's coming back to me. i write a lot. i work at an academic library in addition to being a full time student, so my time is a bit hard pressed until I graduate, but i really enjoy both my work and my school work!

i'm not entirely sure where this blog will go from here, but i hope some of you stick around for the journey! thank you for all your support over the years and kind words and comments <3

thank you for your kindness!

i currently have nothing for sale but pendants are a lovely idea

much love

thank you very much for your kind words i currently have nothing for sale but hope you'll stick around for the future!

much love

This is multiple years late but I hope you had a lovely graduation! That's a fantastic quote and I'm sure your cap came out lovely!

I don't currently have anything for sale -- I took a few years away from art in general and especially online. I've been blown away with the response for the celestial illustrations I did and their continued love over the years. I'm planning to return to art more formally soon and hope to make more things folks connect with <3

much love

the latest version (1.7) of my creative living manifesto for my upcoming website relaunch

text in image reads:

I dedicate myself to a life of compassionate creative living

to show up for myself, my craft, and my community

to cultivate a sustainable lifestyle with space for all to flourish

to hungrily pursue expansion of skill and knowledge

to fail fantastically (and keep going)

to live spherically, with childish enthusiasm

to celebrate being authentic, honest, and kind

to empower and advocate for myself and others

and to seek satisfaction in defining my own version of success

fresh from the spindle

hello there

new doodle for a website relaunch coming soon

oh dear (black out poem), 2019

marker on vintage book page

home

in the space

between my ribs

i am building

a nest.

a home, placed

one stone

at a time, in hopes

one day we will live

there, together.

the full illustration i teased a while back 

if i do pursue pins for my sun and moon the sun might look something like this!