Meet Morgan! The contemporary artist, also known as Melvin G., is the hand behind our Nellie and Lee prints in the Well + Wonder collection. We knew we wanted to work with Morgan when we saw the colorful and bold patterns she uses within her famous face collages. Follow along to learn more about the South Carolina-based artist and the process behind our pattern collaboration!
First off, tell us a little about yourself!
I am Morgan, but most people know me as Melvin G. when it comes to my art. While I was studying art abroad in Orvieto, Italy, I got the nickname which comes from my first initial and part of my maiden name. The name stuck, and from then on out I signed all of my work with that signature.
Art and creating have always been a huge part of my life. I studied art at Clemson University with a focus in painting. I worked in interior design right out of school, and then ended up in the fashion world. Making art was my creative outlet after having my daughter and moving back to my hometown. I never intended on selling it. Things happened naturally, and I would not change one thing about this fun and exciting journey.
What are some of the major sources of inspiration for your artwork?
Having worked in interior design and fashion, fabrics always inspire me – in a room or on a person. The colors, the patterns, the weave, I study all of them way too much, in magazines, on Pinterest and in real life.
Magazines and Pinterest are my very favorite sources of inspirations. I have shelves and shelves of Vogues, Elle, Porter, Architectural Digest, Vogue Living, Domino and many more. When I am stuck I just start pulling out issues and bookmarking them.
I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest. Mostly love, but a little hate because it can suck away so much time from me. I am so obsessed with it, I even created an Instagram account based off of my Pinterest finds. A side note, I only pin things if they are beautiful – I use it as my mood board for my dream life inside my head.
How would you describe your artistic style?
Controlled and Colorful Chaos!
We loved working together on the Well & Wonder collection! Tell us a little about the design process for each print.
It is always so much fun doing collaborations because so often each person sees another’s idea a little differently in their own minds. It is almost this back and forth of ideas that weren’t even supposed to be, but then it becomes something beautiful.
With the Lee print, the Pepper team tried to crop out a flower they liked from a design I sent over. When they mirrored it, the cropped pieces of other parts of the design became this almost geometric shapes surrounding the flower. We all loved it, and decided to go in that direction.
The Nellie print came from strawberries I did after hearing Darryl Strawberry (for all the 80s and 90s baseball fans out there – or like me, younger sibling of said baseball fan) speak at our town’s House of Hope event. The Pepper team liked the idea of strawberries after seeing my post, and we decided to add in some vines.
What’s your favorite pattern from the collection and why?
I really like the Lee. The combination of the organic flowers and the geometric shape really works well together in an unexpected way.
What advice do you have for picking art for your home?
If you LOVE it, buy it, even if you have no idea where it will go. You will regret it if you don’t, and you will eventually find the perfect place for it anyway.