PERSONALITIES: Tolland artist's works are 'in your face'

Oct. 15—TOLLAND — Tolland resident Melissa Rodgers has been painting most of her life.

Growing up in Burlington County in New Jersey, she said, she enjoyed swimming and playing lacrosse in school, hanging out with her brother playing video games, or going to the mall. But throughout that entire time, she was beginning to practice her art.

Melissa Rodgers

Who she is: An abstract artist.

Hometown: Tolland, grew up in Burlington County, New Jersey.

Exhibits: Tolland Library, 21 Tolland Green Extension, until mid-November.

—Arts Center East, 709 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon, through Oct. 30.

—Vernon Coffee Roasters, 520 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon.

"My mom did a little bit of photography," Rodgers said. "My dad was a house painter and commercial buildings painter for quite a while, so it trickled down."

After graduating from high school in 2008, she attended Burlington County Community College, where she studied liberal arts.

"I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do," she said. "Someone suggested ceramics to me and sculpture, so I started taking ceramics and sculpture classes."

After graduating in 2011, she transferred to Arcadia University as a ceramics major, then moved to Connecticut to live with family and attend Quinnipiac University for her Master's of Science degree in interactive media.

"I did communications, also a little bit of filmmaking," she said. "That was my capstone project, making a small travel film for the town of Niantic."

It wasn't until she was in grad school that she started to focus more seriously on painting.

"I wasn't sure exactly what direction I wanted to go in, so I started painting and took off from there," she said. "I've sold paintings in 10 different states so far. I own my own small business now, selling my paintings and showing my paintings to different local art galleries."

Rodgers said her work has become successful enough that she is now living entirely on sales of her paintings.

"I would say I'm very driven, very passionate about what I do," she said. "I also have a social media background and communications background, which helps me promote my own work."

Her love for painting has taken over her other artistic expressions.

"I haven't done any ceramics in about 10 years," she said.

Rodgers describes her work as abstract art.

"I call it abstract nature," she said. "I also use the term nether nature. I like challenging what looks like nature."

One can see and purchase her abstract nature art in an exhibition at Tolland Library at 21 Tolland Green Extension until mid-November.

She currently has five pieces on display, which she has titled "Fall Collection."

The paintings all reflect autumn colors and themes with titles like "Funky Fall" and "Fall Dance."

"These are new pieces," Rodgers said. "What I was trying to do here was have more of a cohesive story and try to do something similar within a small range of work.

"I would say the specific color palette that I use is reds, oranges, a lot of black," she said. "I'll use different kinds of green if I don't want to use orange or stereotypical Halloween colors. I love the fall. I love October. I love this time of the year. It's my favorite time. I love when the leaves change colors."

Rodgers also has her work currently on display at Arts Center East and Vernon Coffee Roasters, both in Vernon.

"It's a good feeling," she said regarding the support she's received from the art community. "I've found a small community within the community, like at Art Center East, also at Work_Space in Manchester, as well as the library here. It's nice to mingle with people and present my work. I've had a really warm welcoming.

Rodgers said two of her biggest influences are Jackson Pollock and Chuck Close.

"Jackson Pollock is a big influencer of mine," she said. "I really like his splatter paintings. I also really love Chuck Close. My work doesn't really resemble his whatsoever. His is more of photorealism."

Rodgers describes her work as "loud," and "in your face."

"It's striking, but also quiet, subdued, like myself," she said. "My personality comes out. The control, and then the opposite of control, is what I like to play with. At the top it's controlled, and the bottom of it is a little wild and more expressive. I guess I put up a little bit of a front. I'm quiet and you really have to get to know me and I have to get to know you in order to come out of my shell."

Rodgers said she hopes her work sees more attention nationally in various galleries.

"I would also love to go to different states or countries in the future, New York, somewhere out West," she said. "I'd love to push my work further and push myself and show and sell more as time goes by."

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