The combination of art and science is  very exciting to me.

Melissa Maglio can be reached @ 508.393.0844
SkullLady@AnthroDesignWorks.com

Forensic Art is very different from Fine Art.    

In Forensic Art you are working toward an unknown outcome, to another's specifications.  Often it is imperative to leave things vague or unspecific so as not to add detail that is unknown.  You must squelch the artistic instinct and rely only on the science.  However, science is your guide.  It provides you with a framework, a description or as literal a framework as a skull.  You only need to follow.  Forensic Art is almost always a surprise.  

In Fine Art you can stretch your wings, so to speak.  You have the freedom to make it anything you choose.  You know at the onset what you want your final piece to look like or to convey.  Yet to me, knowing the outcome can be more of a struggle.  When I did my first clay portrait, I had the hardest time getting the head's shape.  Previously the skull had provided that for me!  Fine Art you're kind of on your own.  It's scarier and relies more on your personal experiences and senses.  

EDUCATION

A 1989 graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Boston, Melissa holds degrees in both Art and Anthropology.  She's extended her education through  specialized coursework at the University of Oklahoma with renowned forensic sculptor Betty Pat. Gatliff, at the  Scottsdale Artist’s School of Arizona with  reconstruction and composite guru Karen Tayor, and learning the British method of reconstruction with Caroline Wilkinson.  

Melissa continues her efforts to learn all there is to know about the human form.  She's continued on to forensic anthropology at her alma mater UMass and Missouri Western along with constant art classes to improve her skills. 

"Life is no fun," she says, "unless you are learning, growing and trying new things. Change is the essence of life."


MEMBERSHIP
International Association for Identification