Coastal Resinworks

by Sabe Fink · Published April 2023 · Updated April 2023

Melissa McGlothren was leading the life of a business executive, working long days, when something told her to make a change. Her change was not small – she left her job, moved to Mexico for a year, and discovered her artistic side. She started with adult coloring books, just as a pastime, and from there began to dabble in jewelry, watercolor, art with river rocks and shells and all sorts of organic materials. As her dreams grew, so did her collection of materials – and tools. Along her journey, she discovered resin art and thought it was intimidating, and way beyond her skillset – but she began to experiment.

With many miles and many projects under her belt, she is back in Daphne, and she is a full-time artist/ craftswoman, using materials that she gathered in Mexico, plus rocks and wood and stones from right here in Baldwin County – and she began to acquire lots of power tools. Today, in her home studio in the Lake Forest community, she works in several media, making massive pieces of furniture inlaid with river rock suspended in resin, and dainty, ethereal jewelry studded with crystals and gemstones, and a number of charcuterie boards utilizing local and exotic woods, resin, stones, shells, sea glass – all materials from nature, from the earth.

The charcuterie boards are a big seller when she takes them to open-air markets, art shows, and galleries. “Personally, I do love all sorts of meats and cheeses and nuts and such spread out on a beautiful board,” Melissa says. “If it’s a beautiful board I made, from materials I chose, or scrounged, or otherwise sourced, that makes it even better.” The charcuterie boards are ideal for entertaining and for gifts. She also has some large furniture pieces for sale through her website and through retailers in Fairhope, such as a massive dining table made of several kinds of hardwood, with a streak of clear resin filled with river rock running through it. “It does have movement,” she notes. “It looks and feels like a stream running through my table. It makes me happy.”

Melissa plans to continue to grow her repertoire and her business and to exhibit at art markets and farmers’ markets. “I like the idea of my pieces becoming part of something larger; something essential, like good fresh local food and feeding people.” She will also exhibit her pieces in galleries and other retail stores. She accepts – and welcomes – commissions for one-of-a-kind pieces.