Myths and dreams inspire children's librarian David Mello's new art show at the Narrows

FALL RIVER — From out of a horseshoe crab’s slate-smooth shell, two eyes peer — human eyes. They’re wide-set and look vaguely tired. A heavy ridge runs across the animal like a set of deep, horizontal cheekbones, with a long, stately nose running down the shell to a set of pursed lips.

It’s a sculpture by David Mello, a piece of art that explores his passions as an artist: strange creatures found in the animal kingdom, surrealism, the human face. They’re all coming together in an exhibit at the Narrows Center for the Arts called “Man and Beast,” on display at the center's gallery at 16 Anawan St. from Nov. 15 to Jan. 15. The show will feature pieces he’s created over the past four years, including sculptures, paintings, drawings and masks that mix humans and animals in fantastical ways.

“It touches upon the relationship between animals and man, but sort of like from the dream state — from the world of dreams, which most of my work kind of suggests,” Mello says. “When animals are portrayed in my work, it’s not the type of dog or cat you’d see walking on your street or would be in your living room, but more or less an interpretation of how these animals would appear, but sort of like in a dream state — not quite correct.”

Mello’s day job provides the spark of inspiration for many of his fanciful works of art. For 30 years, Mello has been the supervisor of children’s services at the Fall River Public Library, a beloved fixture for generations of kids, leading storytelling hours and hosting library events. He’s worked there since he was in high school.

Behind the masks: A look at more of David Mello's artworks, from 2008

Check out the show: "Man and Beast" at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River

“The library itself plays a big portion of my work, because a lot of these images are inspired by folklore and mythology," he says. “All that comes directly from those books on the shelves at the library. The library is a major muse for me.”

These modern myths are mixed with much older ones. He admires ancient Egyptian sculptures that personified their gods as humans with heads of animals — “their way of being in contact with the other side, and the spirit realm or with the dream realm,” he says. “You see this kind of thing portrayed in pre-Columbian art as well, and the Middle Eastern art.”

One piece that has an almost Incan feeling is a sculpture of a bright red figure with a head that might be part dog, or coyote, and an oversized snout that almost seems crocodilian. It stands on two legs, and has a human body.

“It’s a thread that runs throughout our history, the combining men with the animal world," Mello says. “And so you’ll see a lot of it in this particular show, but in my own particular style.”

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David Mello's artistic process

Mello has been featured in art exhibits before, but this is his first one-man show at the Narrows. His previous shows have focused on the curious and bizarre life under the ocean and, most of all, masks. An art student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, he later became a mask-maker for theater, creating masks for the Bristol Community College theater program.

“That’s been my specialty for the past 30 or so years. I’ve always been fascinated with masks. About 30 years ago, I started sculpting them and creating them for ornamentation — for exhibits, for wall decorations, not really worn,” he says. “[It] was very exciting to see masks coming to life on stage. But now, my masks are meant to be hung in the home and enjoyed.”

Most of Mello's sculptures are hand-built in clay, fired and painted with acrylic or oil paints. Some, he says, are decorated with gold leaf. His horseshoe crab, and others like it, are built with actual shells.

“I’ve always loved them because I look at them and they’re perfect for what inspires me," Mello says. “I look at them, and they’re like a creature from great dreams. You look at them and they’re completely alien in a way."

He cleans out the often-delicate shells and joins the pieces together again. “Then it’s a slow process of building up the face and building up the nose and lips and all that on the shell," he says.

“I always like to point out, no horseshoe crab is harmed in the process. I only use ones I find on the beach.”

This show will also include some of Mello’s paintings and drawings, an art form he said he’s returned to more frequently over the last four years. And people who attend the show on Nov. 27 will be able to see how he creates art live.

“I will be doing a demonstration at that time in the gallery, working on an actual piece,” he says. “I’ll be right there with the clay, with my tools. I’ll be working on a piece and I’d love to discuss how I do my work, or discuss the pieces on the wall that time."

Although he’s spent many years delighting kids with stories, Mello doesn’t often get to tell his own. He’ll be doing that at both his demonstration and an open house on Nov. 20.

“I produce all the time," he says. “Every day, basically, I’m working or sketching, working on ideas, drafting drawings. But I never show my work. It just builds up and I collect all this work until I do have a show. And generally it’s quite a few years in between. And no one ever sees anything in the interim. So I like this opportunity to talk about my work with the public.

“That’s one thing I love to do,” Mello says. “I’m kind of like a hermit when it comes to my art, creating the work, but then when I’m ready to show, I want people to come out and see the work and discuss it with me. I just love the feedback.”

"Man and Beast” will be on display at the Narrows Center for the Arts from Monday, Nov. 15, to Saturday, Jan. 15. An open house reception for the show is planned for Saturday, Nov. 20, from 1 to 3 p.m., and Mello will be demonstrating his process on Saturday, Nov. 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit narrowscenter.org/man-beast.

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River librarian David Mello hosting art show at Narrows Center