R. Melinda Hoffman, artist
When R. Melinda Hoffman was a child growing up in the inner city of Chicago, the alleyway behind her family’s home was no stranger to trouble. One night, a gang set a car on fire, and it exploded. By morning, she and her sister found the pavement scattered with broken safety glass.
“It was sparkling everywhere,” she says. “We convinced our mother to let us gather it up. We washed all the pieces and made little fairy castles. I think that was the beginning of seeing beauty in things other people overlooked.”
That early instinct still guides Hoffman’s work. Now based in New Mexico, she creates sculptural adornments and hand-stitched leather vessels that blend form and function with her lifelong affinity for found objects. Many pieces begin with castoffs, from rusty tea balls to porcupine quills, and take shape from there. “I’m drawn to ordinary things people pass over,” she says. “If you show an object in a different light, it becomes something of beauty.”
R. Melinda Hoffman, artist
On Saturday, January 3, The Lucy Clark Gallery, in Brevard, will host a one-day pop-up of Hoffman’s work, with 10 percent of sales benefiting Penland School of Craft as it rebuilds its water system following Hurricane Helene. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For gallery owner Lucy Clark, bringing Hoffman to Brevard feels both serendipitous and overdue. “I have long had a love affair with Southwestern jewelry and style,” she says.
That passion began in the mid-1980s with a sterling cuff gifted by her mother-in-law. Annual sabbaticals to New Mexico deepened the connection.
“On one of those trips,” says Clark, “I stumbled across Melinda’s leather work in a small gallery in Madrid and instantly fell in love with her style and the person behind the work.”
Clark has represented Hoffman since 2022. When she learned Hoffman would be at Penland this winter for a residency, Clark jumped at the chance to host a fundraiser. “Penland is one of the cornerstones of creativity and collaboration in Western North Carolina and is known far and wide for the level of instruction that they offer to artists honing their craft,” she says.
For Hoffman, the fundraiser grew out of gratitude. “I’m going on 65, and this is the first time I’ve ever had a mentor or a residency,” she says. “Being accepted, and even receiving a fellowship, feels extraordinary. I may not have much to give financially, but every bit helps.”
The Lucy Clark Gallery & Studio is located at 51 West Main Street, in Brevard. To learn more, visit LucyClarkGallery.com, or call 828.884.5151.
