Melissa Harshman “A Delicate Balance”

Melissa Harshman “A Delicate Balance” will be on view March 22-April 19 at EYEDRUM Gallery. This is Melissa Harshman’s, Lifetime Teaching Award Exhibition.
Opening reception on Sunday March 22, 3-6 PM.
Closing, with an Artist Talk, on Sunday April 19, 1-4 PM.
Gallery viewing hours are Saturdays, Noon-4 pm.

This current and relevant exhibition brings together recent works from Harshman’s practice in printmaking and papermaking that explore grief, loss, mindfulness, and resilience through material, color, and process. Peace Pieces, created during the 2026 Pentaculum Residency at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, was inspired by the 2300-mile, Walk for Peace led by Buddhist monks from Texas to Washington D.C. in 2026. The work references the colors of their garments, the papermaking process becoming a meditative act—an effort to remain present amid national unrest and uncertainty.

Since her father’s death in 2021, the white chrysanthemum has become a recurring form in her work, associated with mourning rituals. The flower appears in works such as White Chrysanthemum and the Ghost Flower series as a vessel for memory, holding fragments of earlier prints and reassembling them into images grounded in the present. Other works emerge from experimentation and play, using layered cotton, abaca, and flax pulp with stencils and pigmented pulp. In response to the 2016 and 2024 elections, darker works confront grief and despair while seeking moments of quiet beauty, resilience, and hope.