Artist Interview: Melanie Cable, Ms. Chevious LLC

I can’t think of a more appropriate artist to interview in October than Melanie Cable, AKA Ms. Chevious from Canby, MN! She had a cameo in a previous blog post, as she is ¼ of the HalloWhimsical Women art exhibition at the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake, IA (the exhibition will be on display for the month of October 2022.) Cable describes her artwork as having a “perky Tim Burton” vibe to it. “It feels whimsical and odd,” she explained. “And has a tendency to make you wonder.” I wholeheartedly agree!

 

Ms. Chevious in all her glory as she decorates her son’s room!

Cable took some art classes in school, but soon realized it wasn’t the right path for her. “It wasn't a positive experience, as my professor was very rigid in his ideas of what art was and should be,” she said. “I was one of those art students that liked seeing how far I could push within the boundaries of expectation and still do what was asked.” A great example of this out-of-the-box attitude is from her high school days. “When instructed to pick one shape to replicate over and over for a representation of the color wheel, I chose the shape of a sumo wrestler,” Cable said. “I had a color wheel of sumo wrestlers, and the high school art teacher couldn't find a reason to dock points as I had stayed within the perimeters she had instructed.”

This year she’s had a few big projects on her plate, including making new art to hang as part of the HalloWhimsical Women exhibit. “I had planned a large mixed media piece for the show, and I have it completed. It's a piece titled “Creativity Leak”, and features a self-portrait captured in stone, with 'Creativity' leaking out of my mind with various colors,” she describes. “It's a fun acrylic painting on canvas, and completely sealed in resin.”

Creativity leak indeed!

“Aaaand then one of my fellow artists mentioned the word 'theme' and I panicked,” she admitted. “Having a theme for the show never crossed my mind, and I had no idea what direction to take until inspiration struck, and now my brain has committed to an additional six paintings that will evolve around the large original piece I have ready to go. I'm excited, because it involves my original sculpture characters, Octosquatch and Snakesquatch, and also different aspects of my imagination. Collectively, it will be a seven-piece series of what it's like inside my head.”

Recently she’s been working on a series of retro-themed pieces for Siouxpercon, a comic/fandom/anything-nerdy-goes convention held annually in Sioux Falls. She said she’s always been a fan of pop culture and horror movies, so she’s combining the two in entertaining ways: like the Demigorgon from Stranger Things disco-roller skating, or Smeagol from the Lord of the Rings in Candyland. “I feel like I know it’s good when I have to stop and cackle with glee as I’m painting it,” Cable said. “It’s been happening often!”
 

Boooooop!

I asked Cable if she had a favorite art piece, since she has such a variety. “There is a very large, awkward part of my heart that belongs to Snakesquatch,” she answered. Snakesquatch is a three-and-a-half foot long sculpture made of wire, tape, paint, hot glue, and discarded fur from her orange Persian cat, Smooshface. She used an airbrush to add accents to Snakesquatch’s fur, built him a carrying case, and even made him the subject for one of her Acrylic April challenges! “His personality grew and deepened with each painting I made: he is a friend to many, quirky, fun, and dramatic. He has a shelf in our home that used to be a built in phone nook, and he wears different costumes depending on the season (or my mood.) I bring him to shows with me and people either absolutely love it or they hate it,” she laughed. “There's no in-between. Either way, he does his job, because as one of my favorite quotes states: ‘Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable,’(Cesar A. Cruz.)”
 

He looks surprisingly snuggly!

Her favorite tool for making art is, get this… A power drill! “I bought it nearly ten years ago when I started getting active back into making art,” she explained. “I was single and needed it to help me make my own frames for canvas. I used it often, and if I had to guess, we made probably 30 canvases together, as well as every single painting I hung in the last decade. I made my son's bed with just that drill and a hand saw. We remodeled a big section of our farmhouse with it. When I finished a mural in my son’s room in January 2022, I went to hang a photo for him with my drill and it started smoking. My husband looked for replacement parts but we had found that model had been discontinued a while back. I haven't replaced it yet, because I haven't found the right one.” RIP sweet power drill!
 

I’m not usually a fan of spiders over 3’ long…

What’s an issue or stumbling block you’ve encountered? “I've had a few over the years, some stumbles just irritate me more. In my notes I jotted down: small towns, mental health issues, and kids...those are the three bigger ones for me,” Cable said. “My stumble with the smaller towns is that my niche crowd seems to not be in the small conservative Midwest towns where I've resided, but rather the bigger cities that set my anxiety on fire. As far as the kids go, it's easier now that they're older and not destroying the world with industrial-strength adhesive and freelance painting the house because I was in the bathroom for 4 minutes instead of two. We have six kids and I balance things mostly by focusing on my painting during the school year, and work my photography angle and touring during the summer. It allows me to be more present and I can always spontaneously grab my camera and click at things that make me happy versus spending 10 minutes setting up my painting area just to be called away for rides to town or making meals.”
 

I love these!

Cable said her most popular artwork is her 'Octo+Skull+Fruit' series. “It came up because I thought it was a good recipe for different pieces. An octopus with a different type of skull and fruit with a color pattern. I believe I have 8 in that series, and they are my best sellers both online and in person.”

Her advice for artists just starting out? “Try different mediums! For me, it was just as wonderful to find out what I was bad at (and didn't like to do) as what I was good at. I know, practice can make you good at many many things, but take tattooing, for example. I tried that and wanted to cry the whole time. I hated it, feeling the buzz of the gun and knowing the pain I was inflicting. It made me nauseated. Sewing is another art form that is nearly torture for me. I can do it but would much rather appreciate someone else doing it. Coming from generations of quilters, that's awkward. But I found I have a knack for chalk, watercolor, and photography, among other things, and they soothe my demons.”

Give the poor squirrel a break!

“It's not a competition. The more artists we have in the world who notice the art in every little thing, the better the world will be. I don't care if it's welding, sewing, origami, baking, coloring, doodling, gardening, body work on a car, tattooing, acting, singing, painting, whatever. It's all art and it's all needed.” Can we get that on a loudspeaker so everyone can hear it, please?

Want to see more of Ms. Chevious’ artwork? She’s active on Facebook @Ms.CheviousMurals, Instagram @Ms.Chevious, and her website can be found here.