THE DIVINE PORTRAYAL OF MELISSA CHAVEZ
Self Portrait of Melissa Chavez
Stories and Photos by Robin Allen
“Be Passionate About Something”, is the motto that jewelry designer, artist and gorgeous soul Melissa Chavez, lives by.
And I had the pleasure of hanging out in her cool, little artist bungalow to find out what that “something” or should I say “somethings” are!
Melissa takes us on a journey of discovering her talent, who inspired her along the way, her path to sobriety, her different take on therapy, and how tragedy released an untapped gift she never knew she had.
ROBIN ALLEN: Hi Melissa! Thanks for having me over for coffee at your fabulous little artist studio bungalow.
MELISSA CHAVEZ: Yes. Welcome!
Melissa Chavez at work and play
RA: So, I know you call Hood River, The Gorge, your home now but did you grow up here?
MC: No, actually, I didn't. I have lived in The Gorge for 16 years, but I am originally from a small town in Northern Indiana. But, my entire family is originally from South Texas close to the Mexican border. My grandparents were actually migrant workers. That’s how they met.
RA: So, is your Mom also from Mexico?
MC: Yes.
RA: And, do you feel your heritage has influenced your journey as an artist?
MC: I wasn’t really around my culture as I would have liked to be growing up. I do speak Spanish. But, I think I’ve always been drawn to my culture partly because I really was never immersed in it. So, it’s always been intriguing to me.
Although, when I was younger, we did go to the markets in Mexico, and I would see this lineup of jewelry, artisans, pottery and even paintings. And, I was always so fascinated by the people creating all of these things and making a living out of it. But, at the time, I thought of it more as an experience, not as anything I would ever actually do.
Chavez was inspired by a trip to Mexico and a reconnection with her roots.
I appreciate my culture more now as an adult for sure. Especially two years ago when I headed back to Mexico with friends and that feeling of connection to my culture was so strong. It was so inspiring. I bought so much cool art and made so many connections with fellow artists. It was so awesome to be around all that creative energy and my culture at the same time. I definitely want to spend more time in Mexico.
RA: Yes, connection to culture. That’s so amazing. What else inspires you when it comes to your jewelry and art?
MC: Definitely, other artists really keep me motivated. Jewelry designers and painters alike. The art community in general is really inspiring to me.
Also, just looking at myself. How I feel emotionally. Things that I’m going through. Things that are going on in the World. I am very intuitively aware. I just FEEL a lot of that emotion.
RA: Yes. Would you say you’re an empath? That you absorb people’s feelings and energy when you’re around them?
MC: FOR SURE!
RA: Which can make for a great artist but I also think that makes it hard just to be a person.
MC: Definitely. That’s why I had to get out of working front of the house in the restaurant industry because I would just get so drained and overwhelmed. It really brought my motivation and morale down. Not, because I wanted it to, it just did.
Handmade Original Earrings design + photo by Melissa Chavez
RA: Front of the house. Did that mean you were bartending too?
MC: Yeah. Bartending was the most overwhelming. It was just really strong with that kind of volume and that kind of environment.
RA: Now, Melissa, you have been public about being on a sober journey.
MC: Yes! I will meet a milestone of living an alcohol-free lifestyle for 10 years in January of 2022!
RA: That’s a-mazing! Was bartending and being succumbed by that nightlife environment what triggered your choice to get sober? Or, was there a more specific moment or incident where you were like, “You know what, I need to stop drinking.”?
MC: Well, I had two seizures in a six-month span of time.
RA: Wow. Woah.
Designing Earings
MC: I was alone the first time in my apartment when I lived downtown. And, I had been out late ’til like 1 or 2 a.m., and I woke up to get ready for work, went to get some water and the next thing I knew I was face down on the floor.
RA: <gasps>
MC: I had face planted on the top of my coffee table, which was covered in plexiglass, and I woke up to the sound of crackling and I didn’t really know what happened. I knew it was more but I never really wanted to look into it. So, I ended up taking myself to the hospital. I had a split lip and my wrist was messed up. And then, I just went to work like nothing.
RA: WOAH.
MC: Then, my second one was at an employee campout, which I remember specifically that night that I had been drinking, but I wasn’t out of control. And then, the next morning, I woke up and got up out of the tent to get some water from the cooler. I took a drink. My body started tightening up, and I face planted on the ground. And when I came to, I remember hearing somebody laughing. They thought I was joking around, and then they realized that I was having a seizure.
MC: Although in my heart, I knew both these seizures were alcohol induced, I don’t think I quit drinking for another 8 months. My Mom and sister started getting really worried about me. Primarily because I come from a family history of addiction. I’m all about growing and changing toxic family patterns. And I didn’t wanna NOT wake up from a seizure. I didn’t want to die. And, that was the bottom line.
I think sobriety really helped my creative process grow, especially with jewelry design. I had a lot of time on my hands. Quitting drinking has only enhanced my clarity and intuition, and it is the most life-enriching decision that I have ever made.
RA: Wow Melissa! What a brave choice to make on your own. So, knowing you had to quit, what happened next for you?
MC: I was able to take out-patient treatment therapy.
RA: Oh, awesome.
MC: It’s similar to AA but a lot of people were court ordered to be there, but I chose to go. I went twice a week for about six months. And, for the first time, I was really able to dig deep into my problem, my disease. It changed my life.
RA: Incredible. Right on!
Handmade Original Earrings design + photo by Melissa Chavez
MC: I also haven’t had a hangover in over nine years either. Which is great too!
RA: Ha! Yeah, that IS great.
RA: I think it’s an accomplishment everyday to choose sobriety. So, when you go to a dark place or when you need healing or you’re triggered by something that’s not pleasant, do you gravitate to your art?
MC: Yes. I do. And the reason is because art keeps me in the present moment, and then I move away from those dark thoughts. When I’m painting, I’m only thinking about the blending of the colors…brush strokes…
RA: Yeah. It’s the ritual of it that keeps you present.
MC: YES! It never dawned on me until I wrote an essay about Art Therapy and in every single article that I read, it always brought up mindfulness and being in the present moment. And, it all made sense to me.
It’s not the main reason I do art, but it comes along with it and so, I’m very present-minded when I’m creating.
RA: Very cool. Thank you for sharing this different perspective that art can be a type of therapy.
RA: Have you sought out any other type of more traditional therapy or counseling as well since you have been sober? Or, does your creative process carry you through?
MC: So, yeah, like I had mentioned, I’ve just always been a big fan of breaking those toxic family patterns and knowing that you can. So, having an outside perspective from someone who doesn’t know me at all, who I have never even spoken to before, they’re educated AND in turn, know what they are talking about just made sense.
MC: And, as I kept going to counseling, I just really started to understand a lot of my behaviors and once I did that I knew I could change them. That’s been a big part of my process just facing who I am. It’s hard.
RA: It really is hard. I think one of the hardest things for anyone to do is to look in a mirror for too long at themselves literally and spiritually. And, they’ll do anything, anything…not to look.
MC: I know what that’s like. I have literally not looked in a mirror before. Like, literally covered it up with something. I did this after my brother died. I could not face myself or want to feel those things for a long time. And there was a point in time where my sister was like “Will you look at me when we talk to each other?” I didn’t even realize I had stopped making eye contact with people. I had my head down a lot. I was just in this protective state. I had stopped going to counseling. And, it was a long time before I was like “I need to do this for myself and for the people that I love.”
MC: But, when I was ready, my counselor was there for me. We did a lot of cool symbolic exercises. I would start in my dark place and by the end of the exercise, I would be in this totally different place. It was just so mind-blowing. He really helped open me back up and really understand my grief.
RA: I think that is SO important. And, I think a lot of people don’t get that knowledge of how to deal with grief.
MC: Exactly. My art was a huge part of my grieving process too. It really was. I don’t think I would have gotten by had I not started painting. It was a really hard time, and I’m just glad I’m not there anymore.
RA: Me too.
MC: My counselor really has seen my journey as a painter. I would take a painting in every time I went in, and we would talk about it. I actually got to learn more about him too. I found out after all these years, that he was an artist too!! I was like, “You’ve been an artist this whole time and I never knew?!”.
RA: Oh, how cool is that? I feel like he has become more than just a counselor. That he has become a mentor of sorts?
MC: Yes, he sees ALL of my work. He’s just changed my life in so many ways. On a personal level and as an artist. It’s been such a blessing to have him in my life.
RA: So, clearly, your counselor was able to help you through one of the darkest times in your life, your brother, Nate Chavez’s, passing. Is this also when you first started painting as well? Or, had you been a painter before that?
I’ve only been painting since my brother died. My brother, Nate Chavez, was a huge influence on me, and he still is. He was also an artist, and after his passing in 2017 something happened to me. His death triggered something inside of my spirit, literally in my heart and soul, and I have been painting ever since.
MC: No. I’ve only been painting since my brother died. My brother, Nate Chavez, was a huge influence on me, and he still is. He was also an artist, and after his passing in 2017 something happened to me. His death triggered something inside of my spirit, literally in my heart and soul, and I have been painting ever since.
MC: At the beginning, I felt like it wasn't even me holding the brush, almost like I was channeling something through him. In retrospect, I have always wanted to be a painter but never believed that I could be. Funny how things have turned out.
RA: Do you feel like your brother was showing you that? Like “You’ve got this Sis.” That you’re capable?
MC: Yeah. Absolutely.
RA: Do you go into that “channeling” state with all of your paintings or was it just that one?
MC: Only with the first few and then my style of painting became truly my own. People would always compare me to Nate. And, although we had such a close bond, I never wanted to have that comparison. We’re not the same in any sense. We are connected in a lot of ways but we’re also that exact opposite.
MC: I had a lot of dreams about Nate. And, that’s how we were connecting for a long time. So many weird things happened during my painting process. He would literally show up in my work without me even trying to do it. He’s very present in them for me.
RA: I feel like that was the “language” your brother spoke the best so for him to show up in your work is him talking to you because he knows you can speak his language.
MC: Yes. Totally. He was always encouraging me. It didn't matter what phase I was in or how good I was or anything he was just like “Keep doing it”. And I know, deep down, there is a legacy he left behind, and I feel like it was given to me.
Handmade Original Earrings design + photo by Melissa Chavez
RA: Totally. That you were “anointed” in some way.
MC: Yeah. It’s just been so fun, and I’ve learned a lot about myself and my abilities, as well as about staying passionate about something that I didn’t know I could do. It’s weird. I never once visualized myself as a painter. It really did just happen.
RA: When you say it just happened, did you literally wake up from a dream, declare “I need to paint” and just go buy a canvas? Or was it something else?
MC: Well, this is really personal. I haven’t talked about it in a long time. But, you're welcome to share it.
RA: Thank you.
MC: When my brother died, I saw the paramedics working on him. And, it was a really haunting image that I had for a long time. And, I felt the need to recreate it from the physical state I had witnessed into his spiritual state. So, I made this painting of him. It’s called “Taken” and it’s of him being taken in the spiritual form. A simultaneous thing of him leaving and also being reborn. It is something that I had to do to make that image a little bit more joyous or definitely just the opposite of what I remember. That was the first painting I did that meant something. So, that was definitely the starting point of me painting. And, after that, I just couldn’t stop.
RA: I’m so sorry Melissa. Thank you for sharing that part of your journey. I think it’s so powerful, so important and so amazing. So, again, thank you for trusting me with this.
MC: You're welcome. I haven’t even thought about this for so long. I haven’t cried about it in a long time either.
RA: It’s ok. It’s the flow of memories. That’s how I see tears sometimes. It’s just a healthy release too.
MC: I do feel better.
RA: Good. In a way, it was a rebirth for you too. I mean, into a whole other person you never thought you could be.
MC: Totally. I never thought about it that way. It’s crazy. Life and death on both ends ya know? I never thought about that! THANK YOU!
Handmade Original Earrings design + photo by Melissa Chavez
RA: Your welcome. And now, just three and a half years later, you’re doing a collaboration with The Columbia Center for the Arts. Tell me about that.
MC: It’s an “Art-a-Day” challenge. I will be doing a painting a day for 30 days to show the progression. So I picked skulls. They will be smaller 8x10 or 10x10 pieces. It’s very challenging for me and uncomfortable in a sense, but discomfort is growth, and I just want to grow. Not only as an artist but as a person.
RA: Wow. This is an incredibly cool and intense challenge. I can’t wait to see the final series!
MC: Thanks yeah. I definitely want this series to be captivating. I want people to really look at and really see something there. A lot of people think about skulls and think of death, but it’s actually just evidence of life.
RA: I love that. “Evidence of Life”, that should be the name of your series! <snaps>
MC: Oooooo! That’s a great name for a series! Yeah, we are all the same on a skeletal and muscular level and I think people forget about that. Ya know?
RA: Totally. So, now that you are confident in doing jewelry design and painting? Are you taking any custom orders?
MC: YES. I am accepting custom orders for jewelry presently but won’t be taking commissions for paintings again until probably mid-summer. I lost a couple of aunts to COVID, and I am actually working on a number of commemorative pieces for some family right now, and that takes priority.
RA: Ah, again, I’m so sorry Melissa.
MC: Thank you. But, I am looking forward to doing commissions again though. They’ve been really fun because I always find different techniques and different ways to do pieces.
RA: Well, whether it’s personal or for the public, I definitely think that art is your passion. It has to be right? Because it’s not always profitable? But, is there a goal to make a living at this full time?
MC: Yes. I want to do this forever. I would love to make a living out of it. It’s really hard because I live in a single-income home, especially in this area. But, my website launch a month ago was very successful, and that has really kept me encouraged to keep pursuing what I’m doing.
Also, last year with COVID, all that it did was open doors for me. With all of the free time, all I did was paint the entire time I wasn’t working.
Melissa Chavez displays some of her earring designs.
RA: I am so happy you were able to do art the whole time, but getting down to it, how DID you survive? Especially with the food industry in shambles. Were you able to make it by with just your art?
MC: I did sell a lot of art. Yes. But, my Mom was able to help me out and also working as a caregiver for a paraplegic woman part time. So that helped me through. But, I did sell a lot of paintings. I did a lot of commissions. I was also making jewelry and posting on social media and getting a lot of responses that way too. Having art as a side hustle definitely helped pull me through 2020 financially for sure.
I did collect unemployment. But for only about 3 weeks. I maybe should have the entire time, but I was like “I wanna see what I can do with my art.” I wanted to challenge myself.
RA: Awesome. So, do you ultimately think 2020 opened your eyes to how successful you could be with your art?
MC: ABSOLUTELY IT DID! I was like “I can do this.” Why? Because I am doing this and it’s working! And it was an opportunity to share more of my work.
RA: I love that 2020 was able to show you that. Sooooo, tell me about this website you recently launched.
MC: OMG! I love my website so much! I was just tired of procrastinating. Then COVID hit and I was like “I’m gonna build a website!” I worked really hard on it. Jewelry is my main medium just because I have been doing it for so long. So, I decided to make jewelry at the forefront and just gradually add some original art pieces.
RA: I love it! It turned out so nice.
MC: I also created a new business card and logo. I used one of my portraits that I painted of myself and then a portrait picture that I took of myself and then just kind of split that image in half. It’s the perfect representation of the duality of what I do. The duality of life in general. The balance.
RA: I definitely see the duality and balance. That's what art is. What creativity is. You nailed it.
MC: Absolutely. Thank you.
RA: Ok, so as a Woman Entrepreneur, what’s some advice or lessons you can share that may help a fellow artist/creator who wants to begin turning their passion into a business.
MC: Don’t procrastinate. Brainstorm. Jot down ideas. Believe that anything is achievable. I feel like people can be dreamers…which I am. But, I am also a doer. You can’t just dream about it and want it, you actually need to take action to achieve your goals.
Dreaming and living the dream are two totally different things. Even though I’m in two places: doing art and working part-time, I’m still living the dream. It doesn’t have to be 100%, but I’m still living the dream I want to be living. I think you have to be very realistic about what you want, but it’s also just as important to create and take opportunity. And, NEVER underestimate the value of your work.
RA: I agree to all of that advice!
MC: I feel like creating work for all price points is important too. Because not everybody makes the same amount of money. It’s important for me to target every type of budget because I want everybody to be able to wear something that’s handmade, that’s by a local artist and that’s affordable.
RA: That makes total sense. It’s allowing someone to feel special for themselves. And, it shouldn’t depend on a dollar bill. You have a great balance of offerings Melissa. I also noticed on your website you have a great array of categories too?
MC: Ha. Yeah. I do have a lot of categories because I don’t have a signature design style, and I want people to have a really good selection so they can shop by what they like.
RA: No specific design style? That is rare for an artist and I adore it. What’s really cool about it is that everything then becomes unique and super special.
MC: Thanks! Yeah, there are always only 2-3 pairs of one design. That’s it. Sometimes there is only ONE.
RA: Yep. Special. You have to buy in the moment. Love it.
RA: This has been an incredible chat and I thank you for your time, vulnerability and transparency, Melissa. I just have one last question. Why do art? Who or what for that matter, is it all for?
MC: I don’t do it initially for anybody but myself. But, at the same time, I want to do it for everybody. So, I don’t know, it’s a little strange just to hear myself say that.
RA: No, that makes total sense.
MC: My designs are ultimately for women. I want women to feel empowered by my work. I want them to feel beautiful when they wear it. There is no doubt that I have special connections, divine symbolism and deeper spiritual meanings within all my work. That not only resonates with me, but I hope that also resonates with the wearer.
MC: My paintings are also influenced by certain symbols and I’d like to consider them thought provoking and a little weird. I want people to see something they’ve never seen before in my work. From my mind only. I want viewers to be captivated. I want my art to tug on their brains and emotions. I want them to feel something. Anything.
MC: So yeah, why art? I can’t really explain it. The passion. The need. It’s just there. It’s my calling. I just can’t stop making it, and I never will.
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