Pickens County
Combed Paste Paper Paintings
This most unusual art work began with Melba finding a broken
powder rock, just a little bowl with powder inside. She mixed acrylic medium
with the powder and began to experiment. The mixture was too coarse to move
easily with a paint brush, so she tried using a cardboard comb. It worked! And,
a new creation was born.
Now, Melba’s art work begins with the collection of powder rocks.
They are then broken open, and the powder is removed. It is mixed with an
acrylic medium. Once the paint is prepared, the composition must be created
quickly using the cardboard comb, or the paint will begin drying.
Melba has worked with combed paste paper for about ten years, but
she has done much study in art prior to that. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts
from Mississippi University for Women and a Master of Fine Arts from University
of Alabama. She has also taken courses at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
and Savannah College of Art and Design. Other than the combed paste paper
technique, Melba has done drawings, acrylic painting, and photography.
Melba says, “The combination of a traditional technique (the
combed paste paper) with a natural pigment and a modern acrylic medium is most
enjoyable and rewarding.”
Her work is presently
available only at Black Belt Treasures.