El Paso based artist, Melinda Blackwelder, has been combining her passion for painting, drawing and ceramics with her 17 years of military experience to emphasize the undeniable impact that engagement in the arts has on those who deal with military related mental health disorders. The blend of her personal and professional experiences with her social work knowledge have enhanced her ability to challenge the traditional notion of mental health treatment which consists of counseling and pharmacological solutions. Melinda was born in El Paso, Texas in 1978. She joined the military in 2000 and retired in 2017. She received her Bachelor’s of Liberal Arts from Excelsior College in 2010. In 2014 She received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Southern California. She is currently in the process of earning her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Painting with a minor in Drawing and Ceramics from the University of Texas at El Paso.
MELINDA BLACKWELDER
El Paso, Texas 79968
1sgww_art@gmail.com
IG @1sgww_art
EDUCATION
2022(expected) B.F.A., University of Texas at El Paso, Painting, Drawing and Ceramics, El Paso, TX
2014 M.S.W., University of Southern California, Social Work, Los Angeles, CA
2010 B.S., Excelsior College, Liberal Arts, Albany, NY
TWO-PERSON AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020 2020 Annual Student Show, The Rubin Center for the Arts, El Paso, TX
2019 2019 Annual Student Show, The Rubin Center for the Arts, El Paso, TX
From Chaos to Clarity, Fox Fine Arts Glass Gallery, El Paso, TX
Mostly Monochromatic, Fox Fine Arts Glass Gallery, El Paso, TX
Las Artistas Art and Fine Crafts Show, El Paso Railyard, El Paso, TX
PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS
2019 Fox Fine Arts Administration Office, Beaded Lady, El Paso, TX
2019 Fort Bliss Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Building, The Healing Tree, Fort Bliss, TX
1993 3300 Block of Speedway, Passageway Through Time, Tucson, AZ
1993 Rillito River Park, Tumamoc and the River of Life, Tucson, AZ
VOLUNTEER
2015 Gift to the Commanding General of the United States Army Europe, Saint Barbara Patron Saint of Air Defense Artillery, Weisbaden, Germany
PRESENTATIONS
2019 University of Texas at El Paso, Presentation, Chaos to Clarity, El Paso, TX
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2019 Wells Fargo Annual Scholarship
1994-1995 Studio Assistant Apprenticeship, Artist Linda Haworth, Tucson, AZ
PRESS
2019 News Channel 9, Military Veterans Share Passion in Art, El Paso, TX
MEMBERSHIPS
2020 Colored Pencil Society of America
2020 El Paso Art Association
2020 National Association of Independent Artists
2020 El Paso Museum of Art