My current photographic work comprises several different strains. I have shot a series of works in the ruins of Hunters Point Shipyard that depict the slow decay of the abandoned industrial site, and have published a book of these photos, Shiyard, Dust and Memories: Photographs of Hunters Point Shipyard.  This work represents the start of my return to photography using digital processes, after many years of work as a metal sculptor, work which I continue to explore.

My other major strain of photographic work involves shooting urban imagery in New York City and San Francisco. I seek to capture the fleeting moments of life in the city, the blink-of-an-eye capture that freezes a unique moment in time in the life of the city. Much of this work is processed as black and white imagery.

My recent series of works on paper combines several different ingredients:  the leaves and flowers in my garden and nearby, abstract compositions which sometimes  incorporate objects lying around the house, and monotype prints.  I use a mixed-media and layered technique starting with a background wash of acrylics, followed by a stenciled layer, then a final layer of color pencils and/or Prismacolor art stix to render the leaves and other motifs.  

I have been working with alternative process Polaroid photography for over a decade. I am drawn to the balance of technical precision and openness to unpredictability involved in creating this art. As ambient temperature and minute shifts in pressure affect the development of each image, I see each piece as a creation birthed from a particular constellation of variables at a particular moment. The Polaroid manipulations are made using an antique Polaroid Alpha - 1 camera and SX-70 film. The emulsion stays soft for a few hours, allowing me to apply pressure to the photo and gently move around the image, creating an impressionistic, painterly effect. For Polaroid transfers, I project a slide onto peel-apart 669 film, peeling it too early and pressing the negative onto watercolor paper, creating an antique, distressed-looking print. I also use Polaroid transfers in mixed media work. Both films have sadly been discontinued, but I have a stash of 669 film that I continue to use both for my own artwork and to give workshops in Polaroid transfers.

Very recently, I've felt called to express my meditations through painting. This devotional art is inspired by my spiritual practice. It's a departure from photography and very satisfying to feel this work just flowing out of me as I let myself become an unmediated vessel for Source: creative, free, and magical.

I have mostly been working with digital photography and image manipulation, but have recently started branching out into drawing and painting. My graphic design background (it's how I pay the bills!) is also bleeding through into my work. I'm concentrating on a series called "Lottery" which will include digital media and mixed media (and a little painting if I can get my act together). Another artist who has signed up for Open Studios, Takashi Fukuda, will also be sharing my space to show his pieces.

I am fascinated by structure and change as it manifests itself around me: in nature, caused by human intervention, and the seemingly random. Structure and change can be experienced through comparison, movement, and by paying attention to the passing of time. As such, my subjects range from large scale natural and everyday environments to studies of small scale details.

Photography focuses my attention, draws me into the present, and allows me to perceive more intensively than otherwise. The camera lets me capture and share this experience, by freezing or blurring movement, by stretching or compressing time, by pointing to obscure detail. To stop and connect with the present moment has become the rare occasion for many. This way of living diminishes the capacity to perceive the subtleties around us. My images are meant to both reflect this transitory quality, as well as offer counterpoints to it.

With a background in scientific illustration, Melissa Wagner's work uses a variety of methods and media to engage the natural world and illuminate its earthly remnants. A disparate falling of leaves, scattered branches, crushed shells, and dried ferns, emerge from a paintings surface to create organic three-dimensional works that incorporate intense color, texture, and a perpetually changing surface. Through her work, Melissa strives to examine and magnify the disguised processes that envelope the living world while addressing issues concerning reproduction and the environment. Mixing the products of nature themselves with glossy synthetic resin coats, Melissa playfully composes her vision of a world that harnesses natural subjects to construct new models where art, earth, science, and wonder intersect. Melissa draws he inspiration from her love of nature and extensive local and global travels. Originally from Detroit, Melissa has spent the past 10 years in San Francisco and now calls the West Coast her home. Her work has been shown in galleries, restaurants, corporate offices, clubs, and retail stores which include Mandalay Bay, SomArts, The Canvas and Wells Fargo, and is part of collections in Germany, New Zealand, Ireland, and extensively through out the United States. She has participated in San Francisco Open Studios for the past six years, completed a residency at the San Francisco Legion of Honor and De Young Art Center, and recently organized and opened Clara Street Studios in SOMA. She is involved with many projects including the Maitri AIDS Hospice, several mural projects within the Bay Area, and ArtSpan, where she has been an active volunteer with the non-profit organization for over 8 years working on graphic design, signage, marketing and event planning.

Like many photographers I went digital in the nineties. This allowed me to go from simply taking photographs, to making photographs. Over the years I have developed two disparate styles. The first I call Fantasy Composites, which are a blend of several photographic images into a single work that is fairytale like visually but have adult themes: sex, bigotry, drugs, global warming, and so on; the second style is similar to traditional Urbanscape/Landscape photography. These works tend to depict a world decomposing slowly into oblivion, not unlike myself. The photographs shown on this site are from this latter series.

The images shown here are from two different series:  Panama and Tropical Storm.This body of work is a follow-up to my Rubber Flower series, my homage to Japanese etchings and Chinese ink wash.Deeply influenced by my love of Asian art, Panama and Tropical Storm represent my celebration of calligraphy.  The strokes I capture with my camera may not represent any word but it captures the soul and energy of movement (chi).  The movement of a simple stroke becomes more important than representation of the subject itself.  For me, calligraphy distinguishes itself from other cultural arts because it emphasizes motion and is charged with dynamic life! These images were captured from a trip to Panama City in 2011.  During my walks around various neighborhoods, I couldn’t help but to image these strokes were trying to tell me something? The stories they witnessed?  The motion and dynamic life are definitely apparent.