We were lucky to catch up with Melody Jean Moulton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Melody Jean , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

As far as taking the art I make seriously and working to exhibit it, I definitely wish I had started it sooner. I am a self-taught artist and unfortunately let the fact that I didn’t have formal schooling affect my confidence in myself and my work. Up until 8ish years ago, I didn’t create on a regular basis. It came in spurts and I never tried to exhibit anywhere. I slowly started putting more time into creating art and then eventually started going down rabbit holes on the internet and applying to exhibitions and galleries. There was a lot of “No” amidst the “Yes,” but those few acceptances were enough to keep me going. When the pandemic hit I was feeling like I was finally making some headway and getting into more shows. I lost my part-time bartending job of almost 20 years and an opportunity to take over a storefront near my apartment presented itself. I was able to secure some loans and took the risk to open Trash Lamb Gallery in October of 2020. It was a huge risk to open a business during a pandemic, especially that early on when things felt a lot more up in the air as far as when the world would reopen and things would start to get back to how they were before. I weighed my choices though and risking the chance of losing a bunch of borrowed money seemed like a better choice than walking past the building everyday and wondering “What If?”

Melody Jean , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

These days I spend more time as a curator than an artist. That’s not by choice but out of necessity to keep the gallery going. Sometimes I really miss getting to completely focus on my art practice and am jealous of the artists I work with in that sense. It takes a lot more work and planning these days for me to be able to create my own work but having the gallery space is worth the sacrifice overall.

Trash Lamb Gallery offers rotating art exhibitions that feature both national and international artists who work in various mediums as well as an unconventionally curated gift shop. I don’t like rules so I don’t make any when it comes to choosing the artists I exhibit. Similar to when I create artwork, I like to go with my gut when curating and if it speaks to me, I’m likely to book it.

What I am most proud of? Honestly still being in business. Opening a brick and mortar with just enough financial support to get off the ground plus doing it during a global pandemic is no joke. It is absolutely terrifying & devastating sometimes but I just keep going and somehow make it work. The flip side is that it’s also the most gratifying and inspiring job I’ve ever had. I can only keep trucking along and hope that the word keeps spreading and as the appreciation of what I have created grows, it will start to feel a bit less of a rocky ride.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

BUY ART. If you can’t afford it, show up in person. Go to openings, share about the artist or gallery on your social media, tell your friends, tell the artist personally that you like their work. We all have bad days and maybe your compliment will be inspiration out of the funk and into feeling inspired again. A kind word or two can go a long way. Stop buying home decor at Target an off Amazon. Go to a local shop or gallery, commission an artist. If you want art to exist you gotta show up for it in some fashion. You don’t have to have money to do that.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I still don’t think I fully understand NFTs and at the moment I don’t really care to. Digital art has never really been my cup of tea in general and I have always gravitated towards mediums that could be considered analog. I’m definitely the old person sitting on a porch throwing rocks at NFTs but that could change. Maybe I’ll learn more about them and end up loving them in a few years or decades. Never say never right? To each their own, etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TrashLambGallery.com www.GhostsGritMomentum.com
• Instagram: @trash.lamb.gallery @shop.trash.lamb @melody.jean.moulton
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trashlambgallery/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/trash-lamb-gallery-san-diego

Image Credits
Julie Mercer Carroll took the photo of me out front. I took all the other photos or they are scans of my artwork.