About Mel

1956-l957 Architectural Draftsman

After high school I worked as a draftsman in the office of an architect in Aurora, Illinois. I had taken architectural drafting and rendering classes beginning in the seventh grade and on through high school.

1957-1967 U.S. Navy Photographer

When I decided to join the Navy, I was told by the Navy Recruiter that they did have a rating of Draftsman that in was in the Sea Bees or Construction Battalions. However, once in the Navy, after testing, I was given and accepted the choice of becoming a photographer. After only 8 weeks of photo school, I was sent to various commands over a 10 year span, where I seemed to photograph everything from portraits and studio still-life to photojournalism, aerial, press/news and black and white film and print processing and printing. While I had a great love for photography, I also yearned to become a designer of commercial interiors and exhibitions.

l967-l969 Art Center College Of Design

After 10 years in the Navy, I was accepted and attended Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles where I studied Commercial Interior Space Planning and Design for three years.

1969-1974 Commercial Interior Space Planner & Designer

Starting with a stint at the office of Charles Eames in Venice, CA, I worked in commercial interior design for several firms in Los Angeles, ending up as a designer in Washington D.C. for almost 3 years. My design projects ranged from bank and office interiors to restaurant and retail spaces.

1974-1975 Designed and built our home in Marin County, CA

In 1974 my wife/partner, wildlife sculptor, Rosetta and I moved back to California. We designed a built our dream home in a redwood forest just above San Francisco in Marin County.

1976-1984 Fine Woodwork and Architectural Detail Design
and Carving of Signage and Relief Sculpture

After completing our house, I used the skills I learned building a custom home to expand into fine sculptural carving of signs, entry doors and architectural elements in wood.

1985-Present Photographer of 3-Dimensional Fine Art and Craft

I had to learn to photograph my carving work as I couldn't afford a commercial photographer. When my artist friends saw my photos, they wanted to hire me to photograph their fine art and craft work. Now, I have had the great pleasure to have photographed the works of hundreds of fine artists in most every medium. My work has appeared in many magazine ads, articles and covers, books, posters and a multitude of exhibition catalogs. A few of those publications are:

8/28 - 11/22, 2009 Photography Exhibition, Loveland Museum, CO
“Faces Of Hong Kong, 1966”.

Photos taken of ordinary people on streets and waterways of Hong Kong while on shore leave from the Navy on a break from Viet Nam. Photojournalism would be the term one could use to refer to this body of work. A review of this exhibition, written by Martin Janssen, appeared in the September 11, 2009 “GO” supplement in the Loveland Reporter-Herald. Prior to that an article appeared in the February 27th. issue of the Herald's “Valley Window” which offered a bio of sorts on the photographer and his journey to the present. That article was written by Ken Jessen.

Articles about Mel

Click on an image to read the text.

Sculpture Review Magazine, Winter 05		The Reporter Herald "Valley Window", February 7, 2008		The Reporter-Herald "GO", Sept. 11-17, 2009