Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Merill Comeau. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Merill thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My most meaningful projects took place in secure treatment facilities housing youth 15-22 years of age serving sentences in the Massachusetts court system. These youth were required to attend educational programming Monday through Friday. Artists, musicians, and actors were brought in to facilitate creative community activities. I used fabric projects to explore social justice, identity, and self expression. Facilitating youth voices, especially youth in a time of crisis, demanded of me compassion, understanding, and optimism. Consistent patience helped, too. Finding small moments of connection while doing this work felt immensely important. And my practice of kindness in this environment increased my kindness to myself and others in the wider world.

Merill, 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?

I make textile collages and mixed media works out of repurposed and discarded fabrics and papers. I exhibit my work and provide public and private commissions. My practice includes printing, stenciling, drawing, painting, and stitching to create large textile and paper wall pieces. I am represented locally in New England and my work has been purchased and placed by multiple art consultants in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. In particular, hospitals and residential living complexes appreciate my creations of flora and abstraction. My artworks encourages viewers to marvel from a distance and to draw close to appreciate the fine detail. My use of colorful cast-offs and snippets of garments evoke viewers’ memories and stimulate connections uniting us in shared human joys and concerns.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative professional are the conversations that result from viewers perceiving the visual communication of my art. I am driven to represent concerns and emotions that are impossible to express in words using color, form, and line. Being a creative professional allows and encourages me to use my whole self: my hands and body, my mind and thoughts, and my heart and emotions. There are many rewards to being an artist: residency opportunities, pubic exhibitions, commissions and sales. But for me, the greatest reward is being engaged with the world around us, expressing experiences visually, and through that expression finding common ground with others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.merillcomeau.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merillcomeau/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MerillComeau

Image Credits
Will Howcroft Photography Three Stones Gallery