Melinda Susan Johnson

Ms. Johnson has traveled and lived extensively in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia and worked abroad as both a folk art importer for various museums and a green coffee broker. Her artwork has been exhibited throughout the United States, and she was selected by the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco as their "Introductions" artist. Her work is in many collections in the United States and it has been shown several times in Paris, Italy, Japan, Belgium, Mexico, and Germany. Artwork, as well as Ofrendas by Ms. Johnson have been featured in many magazines and publications and she has also been published as a writer of art criticism for several magazines including "Ceramics, Art and Perception", an international ceramics monthly magazine.

Ms. Johnson learned the ritual of building Ofrendas in Oaxaca, Mexico while participating in the annual Oaxaca Ofrenda competitions. She was able to assist in and observe the various customs of many small villages throughout the Valley of Oaxaca, and integrates this into her work.

Johnson's works are compelling and raw, often bringing the viewer to tears, and are intended to draw attention to the plight of victims of horrific events often forgotten. It is her goal to set up a fund for each of the subjects of her work, with 100% of all proceeds going to help the victims. These include the victims of Hurricane Pauline in Oaxaca, Mexico; the murdered and missing girls and women of Juarez, Mexico; the hundreds of burned, and injured children and their families of the Beslan Russia school bombing; the flood victims and missing children of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, U.S.A.; the survivors of the Rwandan Genocide; and to draw attention and raise funds for the people of the saddest place on earth, Haiti.

Currently Ms. Johnson lives in Sacramento, California and leads an active and fulfilling life as the founder and Director of Sacramento Arte Flamenco and the Sacramento Institute of the Flamenco Arts.