Melissa “Miss” Johns of Misscycled Art is an artist and illustrator from Wangaratta in Northeast Victoria. She has a keen imagination and applies her art creatively utilising recycled teabags and other upcycled wonders.

 

Melissa chose these materials as she wanted to work with sustainable materials that would lend her work a certain whimsical and vintage feel, while also doing her small part in environmental sustainability. Her pieces are created using the teabag fabric and papers on canvases as part of a collage, along with other recyclables; coffee cups, gift wrapping, serviettes, gift bags, coffee filters etc.

 

Her process involves painting and drawing on each individual piece of teabag fabric (i.e. every colour represents a different collaged piece of fabric), which are then collaged onto a canvas. The process is a lengthy one, with pieces taking anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks to complete. Other mediums used in her processes are charcoal, pastels & watercolours, with acrylic base on occasion.

 

Melissa’s work has been described as whimsical, at times naïve, contemporary and abstract. She has featured in literary magazines, delivered creative workshops, won several Victorian awards, and illustrated two international children’s books, one of which was released early 2020 in Australia, New Zealand, US, UK and Canada, with the other slated for release later this year, both books published by Exisle Publishing.

 

Miss’s wish is for her Misscycled process to become popular amongst other artists and continue the movement in environmental awareness through her art, and for her art to capture the viewer and reader with her distinctive style.