Melissa Thornburg Rocha is a Northwest artist who loves holing up in her Tuff Shed studio to play! Results can be representational or abstract; the media vary from watercolor to crayon to acrylic; the canvas may be paper or old furniture. The main objective is to share a joy of creativity and hope for the future.
Being the daughter of an artist, Thornburg Rocha has been exposed to art all of her life. Earlier pursuits included piano (she still teaches) and newspaper journalism. Art waited in the background until the sudden death of her first husband in 1994. Painting was the one thing that helped her through the worst times, and she shared her pain and progress with other grieving people in a year-long solo show at Kaiser Permanente.
Other projects have included two solo shows at Jules Gallery in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon in 2002 and 2003, murals for the Portland Parks Bureau and private beach homes, banner signage for a MS Walkathon and an Oregon Symphony Players concert, three calendars for the Portland Coffee Merchant, and a national logo contest for a division of Hughes Corporation. Her art is available on mousepads and aprons on her website, www.melissastudio.com.
Currently she teaches watercolor and acrylic painting at Portland Community College and is happily involved with her painting, her students, her friends, her grandchildren and her wonderfully supportive new husband.
Thornburg Rocha is also the creator of Empowerment4Women's signature sunshine logo. Her work has appeared throughout Empowerment4Women since its inception as an online women's interest magazine in January 2004.
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