Mel Ahlborn: The Evolution of The Written Word

CASI presents noted artist Mel Ahlborn, who will not only discuss her own work and art journey, but also render to us the multi-millennial history of early substrates and inks that artists have evolved. Carved tablets and wall paintings, scrolls of papyrus and vellum, the codex structure and the first bound books, illuminated manuscripts and movable type – all but one of these methods of recording the written word continue today. This event will be at the Carmel Barnyard on May 28th at 430 pm. Wine, non-alcoholic beverages and appetizers will be complementary..

Ahlborn’s art studio is in Carmel-by-the-Sea, which storybook artist colony continues to pulse with the vibrant love of beauty and craftsmanship that attracted its original settlers some 250 years ago. After passing vintage hotels and flower-strewn cafes, entering Ahlborn’s art studio feels as though you have crossed into a new way of seeing the world. The New Jersey-born artist’s large canvases, made with oil paint and gold leaf, line her walls. Remnants of projects past and present share space with Ahlborn’s sketches and color trials for paintings that are yet to be.

In the world that Mel Ahlborn illustrates with her art, what we see, the visible, hints towards tangibilities of what we do not see. The liminal appears in her paintings as fluid and glistening, with colors both subtle and rich. Languid figures, some winged, coexist in parallel planes while piercing thresholds of perception.

Canvas, oil paint, and brush strokes are her primary tools of approach. Gold leaf, usually genuine, makes the occasional appearance in her work. Ahlborn credits the beautiful churches of her childhood as an early source of her interest in the thresholds of liminal spaces. “Growing up, I was surrounded by adults who had strong beliefs in an unseen mystery. This had a profound effect on me. I was always asking myself what it was that they knew that I did not. I wanted what they had.” Illuminated manuscripts, Crivelli and Mantegna, the Pre-Raphaelites, GF Watts, and the occasional Symbolist all undergird the inspiration that fuels Ahlborn’s creativity. “The intricacy of medieval manuscripts intrigued me from an early age – why would a culture so deprived of human comforts spend so many precious resources (gold leaf, lapis lazuli, vellum) on the creation and replication of ancient texts?”

A frequently commissioned artist, when on her own time she freely experiments with visual methods of creative inquiry. Ahlborn nods to her parents for their generous gift of education, and credits them for encouraging her curiosity. Her undergraduate studies in chemistry and classics were completed at Tufts University.