In 2006 & 2007, I was fortunate to have several pieces of my work used in the arts & literary magazine, Balancing the Tides, a Newport Journal.

The first was an article originally written for Newport This week as part of a series in 2005.

It's entitled "The Artist in Us All" and it talks about the amount of creative energy Newport and the surrounding environs seem to produce in people. 

 The Artist in Us All

Is there something in the Newport water that breeds creativity? I'm beginning to think so. It would seem Newport has had far more than its fair share of artists, writers and musicians who have left their marks on the town and its history. What is this "Newport Factor" which has lit a metaphorical fire beneath the people who have called Newport home?

I have lived other places. Lots of other places, and not one of them can touch Newport for that "je ne sais quois" quality that speaks to centuries of "artiness." Travel writer John Villani lists Newport in his "100 Best Arts Towns in America: A Guide to Galleries, Museums, Festivals, Lodging and Dining" with good reason. We live in a community whose natural beauty is inspirational and whose infrastructure is extremely supportive of creativity.

Many of the denizens of the City by the Sea, past and present, permanent and temporary alike have been bitten by the creative bug. They have, through one form of self-expression or another, managed to bring forth the artistic energy generated by this small town in interesting and often unique ways. 

Who, you may ask dubiously, are these artistic sons and daughters of our fair city? Well, since you insist, I'll list. You may know some of these folks, heard of others, or wonder who the heck any of them are. If the latter is the case, feel free to move to Fall River immediately.

 Did you know that writer Bishop George Berkeley, who posed the existentialist question "If a tree fell in a forest, and there was no one there to hear it...," lived on the island? As did George Washington portrait painter Gilbert Stuart, Clement Clarke Moore (that man who wrote "T'was the Night Before Christmas"), western writer Brett Harte, Iwo Jima memorial sculptor Felix de Weldon, stained glass artist David Maitland Armstrong, artist Gertrude Whitney (Little Gloria Happy-at-Last's Aunt), architect Richard Morris Hunt, and Gilded Age chronicler Edith Wharton. Those were the old-timers.

Today we have novelist Mark (a.k.a. James Axler) Ellis (the fact that Mark is my husband has nothing whatsoever to do with his inclusion here, he's earned it with over thirty books published!), playwright Dave Christner and Scottish transplant Maggie Gillis. We have numerous photographers, such as Onne van der Wal, Eric Hovermale, and Sandy Nesbitt, to name just three. Stonecutter Fudd Benson, glass-blower Matthew Buechner. Artist Richard Grosvenor and genteel lady artists Natalie Pfanstielh, Marcelle Casavant, and Eveline Roberge. Musicians Paul Geremia, Jody Gibson and of course, pop legends the Cowsills. My apologies to those left unmentioned, they are indeed too numerous to mention.

 Many Newporters participate in the artistic life of the city without even knowing it. The esthetic is infectious. Indeed, everyone who plants a window box, shares their Secret Garden, puts gargoyles on their eaves or hangs a seasonal wreath is adding to the overall creative ambiance.

 For every famous artist out there, there are ten unknown locals or visitors producing what I like to call "Little Art Moments." In the summer, sand sculptures. In the winter, ice sculptures. In a city full of inspiring public art, the trickle down effect is firmly in place. Those who cannot create art of their own often are inspired to embellish existing art, such as socks and sandals that always seem to end up on the Wave statue on Thames Street. Aren't they the sort of conceptual art popularized by Yoko Ono?

 I can't leave out mentions of Island Art's nifty roaming Art-o-Matic machine, or the murals which mysteriously appear then disappear, like the one on the back wall of the Salvation Café and another on the side of the C.H. Charles on Broadway. When you start to really look, you can find an Art Moment almost anywhere.

 The bottom line is that not everyone can be famous or even infamous, but we are all free to enjoy the beautiful architecture, gorgeous trees, gardens, beaches, cliffs and vistas of Newport. Here the Arts are loved and celebrated, supported and feted. The Newport Art Museum, Newport Preservation Society, Redwood Library, the many juried shows and exhibitions at the independent art and photo galleries, all offer many opportunities to nurture the artist in us all ... and make us, knowingly or not, part of the living work of art that is Newport.

By Melissa Martin Ellis

The Spirit of the Tree

This digital painting was inspired by a very old tree I would often photograph as Mark and I walked around the Salve campus. To me, the tree looked as if there was a dryad trapped inside. I pictured her stepping out of the tree when the moon was full. 

The Moongate 

Another favorite Newport spot to photograph is the Moongate on Shepherd Avenue, right off of Bellevue on the grounds of Chateau Sur Mer.

My digital painting and story about the Moongate, called The Monkey Seat also appeared in Balancing the Tides. 

I like the color version of the Moongate a lot better, myself.

Hammersmith Farm 

For as long as I can remember, the road which winds past the fields of Hammersmith have been a favorite spot for photographers to stop and snap a few quick pics.

Not only was this the summer home of Jacqueline Bouvier, after her marriage to John F. Kennedy it briefly served as the summer Whitehouse.

Presumably, since that time it has been home to the tiny miniature horses that run up to beg for treats when cars stop to see them.

The spring day was overcast, the light seemed very special so I stopped for a few shots. Unfortunately, the little horses were nowhere to be found. Only some Oreo cows.