Artist Kreh Mellick remembers that when she was about six she had a strong desire to draw a picture of her mother wearing a polka-dot dress. She was frustrated by the result, but the urge to “draw with determination” stayed with her. In the many years since then, she has created whole worlds with her distinctive and imaginative drawings.

Kreh is one of three featured artists for the 39th Annual Penland Benefit Auction.

Kreh’s works on paper show an interest in women, nature, and domesticity as well as the unseen magic and energies that whirl around all living things. She works mostly with gouache on paper that is often cut and layered in reassembled environments.

She first came to Penland in 2007 as a core fellow, and since then has been a studio assistant, community member, and staff member. “I met my husband, married, and had my first child at Penland,” she says. “Penland has shaped most of my adult experience and art practice. It is a second home and very dear to me.”

Kreh has a BFA in illustration from Maine College of Art. Her work has been shown in more than a dozen solo shows in galleries in North Carolina, California, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Johannesburg, South Africa. She lives and works in Asheville, NC.

In this short video, she talks about her work with an interviewer and with her young daughters. She also tells about a barn owl that brought birthday cakes.

Many thanks to Erin Brethauer and Tim Hussin of This Land Films for making this video, which we hope you will enjoy as much as we have.

Kreh’s piece shown above will be part of the 2024 Penland Benefit Auction. Absentee bidding is available. Complete auction details are here.