Melissa Katzman Braggins
PRINTED WORKS ・ COLLAGE ・ CERAMICS
About the Artist
Melissa Katzman Braggins lives in Rhinebeck, NY and works in her studio Pondside Press. She is a Tamarind Master Printer and together with husband Ted founded Pondside Press as a collaborative printmaking studio in 1985. As printmakers they have worked with numerous artists at Pondside Press, Southwest Graphics, Master Editions and the Art Omi international residency for 25 years.
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At Rochester Institute of Technology, Melissa attended the College of Fine and Applied Art, (BFA) majoring in Painting with a minor in Printmaking. She later attended the Tamarind Institute (TMP) at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and received a Master of Arts in Education from the College of New Rochelle, NY. Melissa has had many years of teaching, both in the Art Department at SUNY New Paltz, and the Wappingers School District. In addition, she has provided printmaking workshops at SUNY New Paltz, and Mt Holyoke College, and was invited as a guest artist at Syracuse University.
Melissa works in a variety of media including printmaking, painting, drawing, collage, paper-making and ceramics. Nature plays an important role in her work as well as the intricate emotions and relationships between people. She strives to connect to the elusive qualities of a moment in time and the chance to look closely at what surrounds us.
I believe that through my art making, teaching, and collaborating,” Melissa states, “I have created experiences that may have been impactful for others in a positive and formative way.
Artist Statement
Through my artwork, I try to capture a fleeting moment of time. I am struck by a variety of images that compel me to create. Nature plays an important role in what I want to portray together with the intricate emotions and relationships between people. The constant state of flux which is shared in both nature and in people make it important to embrace the intensity of the moment.
The juxtaposition of color, shape, texture, line, and detail provides me with a means to add richness and depth to my images. I enjoy working with formal aspects of art as well as the emotional complexity of ideas and feelings. It is exciting to have the freedom to explore and to combine different materials and processes.
The ceramics are an extension of the work I do in monotype, collage and paper. I like to use similar elements and enjoy the plasticity of the clay because it allows me to work three dimensionally. This group of ceramic wall pieces incorporate my love for an organic approach and abstract elements. Forming the clay slabs provides a path to further explore layering, color and movement. I incorporate my hand drawn cut stencils, printmaking techniques and painting to create intuitively with the clay.
By working in a variety of media I am able to extend my visual language in new directions. Printmaking, painting, drawing, collage, papermaking and ceramics are all present opportunities for creative processes. The pursuit of letting different means play a role in directing how I construct my work is both challenging and gratifying. It is a constant give and take between the original concepts and how the work develops. I would like my work to offer a way to connect to the elusive qualities of a moment and to provide a chance to look closely at what surrounds us.
Explore Artwork
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Artist Printmaker, Pondside Press Graphics Workshop & Gallery, 1985-present
Art Teacher, Wappingers Central School District, Hopewell Junction, NY, 2002-2020
Visiting Assistant Professor, SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, NY, 1992-2001
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MA Ed, The College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY, 2002
BFA Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 1976
TMP, Tamarind Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 1982
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Pondside Press Studio Gallery, Rhinebeck, NY 1985-Present
Art Studio Views Annual Tour 2009-present
Our Only Planet, Photography & Paper, Printmaking, Group Shows, Tivoli Artists Galley, 2024
Surrealism and Abstraction, Sculpture & Ceramics, Group Shows, Tivoli Artists Galley, 2023
Farms and Fields, Going Places, Small Works, Group Shows, Tivoli Artists Galley, 2023
Art Studio Views Group Show, Betsy Jacaruso Gallery, Rhinebeck, NY 2023, 2022, 2018
Group Show, Ulster Savings Bank, Red Hook, NY 2023, 2022
Earth and Sky, Small Works, Exploring Paperworks, Group Shows, Tivoli Artists Gallery, 2022
New Year New Work, Group Show, Tivoli Artists Gallery, 2021
Members Best, Group Show, Tivoli Artists Gallery, 2020
Freedom Show, Small Works, Group Shows, Tivoli Artists Gallery, 2019
New Year New Work, Group Show, Tivoli Artists Gallery, 2018
Group Show, Rhinebeck Savings Bank, 2014,
Cheetah Conservation Fund Exhibit, The Millbrook School, 2013
New Paltz Faculty Exhibit, Samuel Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz, NY 2001
Corridor Gallery, Oneonta, NY 1999-2009
Soundshore Gallery, Cross River, NY, 1997-2000
SUNY Faculty Show, Unison Arts Gallery, New Paltz, NY 1999, 2000
Monotype Exhibit, Columbia Memorial Hospital, Hudson NY, 1998
Hanover Gallery, Syracuse NY, 1979-1985
Print Exhibition, Colorado Grant Street Art Center, Denver. CO, 1985
Print Exhibit, Peacock Press, Aberdeen, Scotland 1983
B&K Lithographers, Fayetteville, NY, 1979-1980
Chittenango Printmaking, Chittenango, NY 1976-1979
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Closely Scene, Solo Show, Tivoli Artists Gallery, 2022
Ink, Paper, & Ceramics, Solo Exhibit, Tivoli Artists Gallery, Tivoli, NY, 2019
Printed One-of-a-Kind, Shahinian Fine Art, Rhinebeck, NY, 2019
River Winds Gallery, Beacon NY, 2017
Albert Shahinian Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY, 2000
14 Years of Collaborative Printmaking, Lorraine Kessler Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY, 1999
Woman Artists, Onondaga Savings Bank, Syracuse NY, 1979
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Pepsico, Purchase, NY
Natalie Solomon Foundation, Chicago, IL
Lang Communications, Randolph, VT
Numerous Private Collections
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Lightwood Press “Artists in Space, Pondside Press Studio Visit,” 2022
Poughkeepsie Journal, “Art Studio Views,” 2018
Poughkeepsie Journal, “Cauldrons of Creativity" by John Barry, 2012
“Do “Downtown Galleries Dynamic Displays” by Wayne Lempka, 1999
Chronogram, “Pressing Business”, Todd Paul 1999
ART/OMI International Workshop Catalogue, 1992-2017
Print Collector’s Newsletter, Ellen Lanyon /Pondside Press, 1993
Northeast, “Dual Art Exhibit” 1999
Art Times, “Printmaking” Nancy Catandella, 1991
Poughkeepsie Journal, “It’s a Print!” Florence Penella, 1988
Tamarind Publications, “Susan Crile/Melissa Braggins” Collaboration, 1982
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Collaborative Workshops, Pondside Press, Rhinebeck, NY 1985-present
Monotype Workshop, Art/Omi International Residency, Ghent NY, 1992-2017
Visiting Artist, Ceramic Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 2015, 2016
Sue Coe Printmaking Collaboration, Mount Holyoke College, Mount Holyoke, MA, 1992
Chine Colle Lithography, SUNY New Paltz, 1995
Lithographic Processes, Grant Street Art Center, Denver CO, 1984
Melissa Katzman Braggins
Curriculum Vitae
Online Gallery
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