Melissa walks her Hawaii neighborhood as Fissure 17 of Kilauea volcano erupts in a lava fountain. Days later, this idyllic scene was covered by lava. Photograph by Dominic Tidmarsh
Bio
Melissa Schelling combines photography and writing to look directly at unwanted change and how to move forward while feeling disoriented. Recent projects include losing her dad to dementia then losing her home to a volcanic eruption one year later. AP News published an article about her solo exhibition of photos made while evacuating from multiple lava flows.
She edits her projects with the photobook in mind, including some handmade artist photobooks. She has experience in self-publishing after she collaborated with a fellow artist to develop and produce a family board game during 1981-82: Bar Harbor Vacation Game ©1982.
Melissa studied fine art photography at the Maine Photographic Workshops in 1982-83, then opened a photo studio in Washington, DC, photographing for artists, galleries and individuals. The Washingtonian Magazine published Melissa’s photographs and included her in the Top Ten Wedding Photographers of the DC area. After a decade of photographing for clients, she returned to personal photography.
Born in Canada to an international family, Melissa is a dual citizen and moved to Hawaii Island to live off the grid for 22 years until Kilauea Volcano erupted in 2018 and politely hinted that she could use her creativity to help fellow survivors of natural disasters.
Melissa Schelling recent education 2019-2025
2025 Invited to “Inspired Design: Fabricating the Handmade Photographic Artist’s Book” (Monet Kitchen) — Susan kae Grant, La Luz Workshops
2025 “The Art of Photographic Bookmaking: Inspiration, Creation & Acquisition” — Susan kae Grant with Mary Virginia Swanson, La Luz Workshops
2024 “Creating a Successful Photobook” (Lava Next Door) — Elinor Carucci and Alan Rapp, PhotoPhlo Photo Education
2024 Invited to second Book Project Review (Lava Next Door) — with Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius Himes, La Luz Workshops
2023 Book Project Review (Lava Next Door) — with Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius Himes, La Luz Workshops
2023 “Publish Your Photography Book” — Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius Himes, La Luz Workshops
2023 Magnum 4 day Seminar Series: Book Publishing, Photographic Archives — with Martin Parr, Susan Meiselas, Andrew Sanigar
2022 Project Review (The Long Mourning) — with Mary Virginia Swanson and Trudy Wilner Stack
2022 “Finding Your Audience” — Mary Virginia Swanson, La Luz Workshops
2019-21 PhotoCon Hawaii, Ric Noyle, Honolulu, — lectures with Jody MacDonald, Karen Hutton, Jeremy Cowart, Jerry Metellus, John Faison