Mel Kalkan is a visual artist based in Dundee, Scotland.Driven by a playful curiosity and keen exploration of colour, pattern, and texture, her creative practice incorporates a variety of mediums and processes including painting, collage, textiles, and jewellery & surface design.Creating with sustainability in mind is an integral element of Mel's practice. She believes that working with what she is able to find, rather than what she could otherwise order on demand, will always pave the way towards the best experiments, unexpected results, and happy accidents, while using up existing materials that would otherwise have been destined to landfill. Mel sources all of the textiles she uses in her work second-hand. In the studio, she operates using a zero-waste approach - leftover paint from a mural might be used to create a work on canvas or a batch of earrings - paper scraps from a collage will find their way into another piece of art.Mel is a strong proponent of making as a means of supporting and promoting wellbeing. She believes whole-heartedly in the importance of community engagement and is a huge advocate of creativity as a means of connection.
'Kaleidokan' is Mel's studio shop - named as a nod to the kaleidoscopic and ever evolving range of art and design applications she finds herself exploring.Currently, her primary focus with Kaleidokan is designing and creating hand painted wooden jewellery. Slow-made in small batches, each piece is unique, and designed for lovers of colourful, playful, mood-lifting statement pieces made by hand rather than machine.As her practice develops, Mel has plans to add more items to the shop in the realm of wearable design, gifts and homeware.The link to the shop can be found here:
