Marc Michel Melkie with a name like that I probably should have been a country western pop star, instead I pretend to be a world famous DJ like Kaskade. Better known as fivel to thise closest to me, I have two beautiful daughters and an even more beautiful wife. While I might do fractions and rope climbs better than her, she is stronger than me in so many ways that I never could compete against even if I wanted to. These foundations I’m graced with in my life are what have allowed me to build a space that allows me to produce art at all. This simple formula allows for more than simply taking photographs or painting canvases. This construct over time has given me consistent opportunities to constantly work to improve my ability of service to others while allowing a window of focus, so to speak, for me.  

The majority of the scars on my hands are either from shucking oysters or being shot by simunitions. I never knew back then just how much I would become to depend on my hands in my careers. Yes, I even while I used to work for the Dept of State while I attended LSU. After undergrad, I moved to Dallas and worked in the construction / engineering world for a few years and intended on going to law school. Even sat for the LSAT. Completely changed directions and wound up in chiropractic school after attend Vale Tudo classes at Parker University. People think it's two completely different fields until I explain to them no it's simpler - it's only mechanics of one machine vs many. And with all the jobs and work I've done, I currently work for one of the best companies on the planet. That's not an exaggeration- besides our company being honestly ranked as one, we help people heal musculoskeletal pain and dysfunctions. Take all experiences I’ve had in all the facets of life, it would be impossible to not bare witness to all the beauty that exists in both form and function of our world. The dance that ‘form’ and ‘function’ perform with one another is the experience of art itself.

I do believe in purpose and that there's a ghost in the shell. Photography (both film and digital), painting and art in general is one of the only things I really remember doing and enjoying from under the age of 8 to this day, 35 years later. There's crests and troughs in life, but even during the times art had to take a back seat, I never lost the love and appreciate of it. Fine art and photography are worlds that I consider to be creators of opulence yet servicing to others. I am fortunate that I've been able to touch, taste, and dance with this world and then have the duty to contribute back in this form of communication.