LBCC Student Staff Sin Melendez, Tells Her Story

If you've found yourself at open studio time in SSH 211 on a Friday afternoon, chances are you've encountered a woman wearing glasses with multihued hair of purple, pink, and blue. She's likely working on a monster or other creepy creation. Her name is Sin Melendez and she's the studio assistant that monitors open studio time as a part of the student faculty here at LBCC.

She has two positions on staff. One as a studio assistant for work study and the other as one of only two student gallery coordinators. Melendez decided to apply as a student gallery coordinator last year during a class she took from Anne Magratten, who invited her students to apply for the position.

Melendez wasn't sure if she would be able to do the job because of her already busy schedule, but said, "why the hell not," and applied anyways. She was surprised when they announced that she'd been chosen for one of the two positions during the reception for the Annual Student Juried Art Show 2017.

"It's done more for my professional career than if I'd kept taking science. It's very competitive over there," said Melendez, in reference to being a Student Gallery Coordinator.

Melendez is also an art student, but hasn't always been. She started out as a Biology major. She was about halfway through getting her degree when she was sitting at a bus stop one day. Looking at the side of a building across from the transfer station, she noticed the uniform window placement and found herself daydreaming about a mural to paint on it

Melendez was also thinking about wether she was happy or not, and couldn't picture herself doing science forever. To her, it felt like she had to fall into the uniformity to be successful. It was around this time that she decided to follow her passion for art instead.

She was met with only support from her family. "My dad has always been super supportive," said Melendez. He told her to go to college for what she wants to go for.

Melendez has been an artist for a very long time. "I can't really remember when it all started. I got my talent from my mom." As a kid, "all I ever wanted to do is draw dragons." These days, Melendez said, "I like to make monsters and monsters that function in their environment."

Her parents have been very encouraging and Melendez has always found inspiration from her mom. Her mom asks her, "why don't you ever draw nice things?" Melendez makes her mom cards on birthdays and holidays that have 'nice things' on them.

Nowadays, her biggest influence is Anne Magratten. Magratten is the Gallery Coordinator and an instructor for LBCC. "She's the one that introduced me to all this stuff. She's really really encouraging. She viewed my creepy artwork and said it was really beautiful," said Melendez.

People watching is another source of inspiration for Melendez. She watches people's interactions with day to day things but then she'll imagine a big creature hanging around them. "I love sitting in parking lots. I love sitting at bus stops. Anywhere with lots of people passing by. It's a really big part of me, just sitting and observing."

Melendez would like to continue her education after finishing at LBCC, and get either an MFA or BFA. A dream job of hers is to become a dog trainer. One of her hobbies is learning sign language which has come in handy at her weekend job at Rite Aid. She would also like to be a career student. "I love to learn."