Gabrielle Meli recently graduated from the University of Rochester with a double major in Geological Sciences and Studio Arts. She is a Rochester native and takes pride in the community that inspired her career as both a geologist and an artist. Greater Rochester’s natural beauty sparked her interest in earth sciences while her mother supported her love of the arts by encouraging her creative endeavors from a very young age.

Meli’s work has been exhibited locally for events such as the Henrietta Bicentennial, an event held at the local recreation center. She sold prints of her work at the Bicentennial to help raise money for the construction of the new town library. Adjacent to her art career, Meli attended geologic field camp in Cardwell, Montana. Field camp allowed her to experience independent geologic field work first-hand, one of the first steps to becoming a professional geologist. Meli received the Lattimore Prize, a merit based scholarship, from the Earth and Environmental Science department at the University of Rochester to help fund her field camp. Montana inspired her most recent work, often referencing photographs, hand samples, and field experiences in her artwork.

Gabrielle Meli’s work is centered on geology and viewing the world through a geological lens. Her recent work tackles the struggles many women pursuing careers in science face, as many of these fields are male dominated. She explores the unconventional beauty in geologic field work while bringing to light inequalities, both past and present, women geologists have overcome.

Primarily working with acrylic paint, screen printing, and fiber arts, Meli adds personal touches and interactive elements to her work that cannot be translated simply through photographic replication. Her work in acrylic is bold and she favors bright color palettes to mimic the vibrancy of rocks viewed from under a microscope. In some of her most recent work, Meli utilizes ink made from materials found in her field work. Incorporating materials from her other academic discipline is important to her because it bridges the gap between the arts and sciences, encouraging viewers to expand their creative bubble.

Meli has always had a passion for both creative arts and Earth sciences since she was a child. Growing up, the arts and sciences were on polar opposites of the academic spectrum – it was always one or the other, never both. When the opportunity arose for her to pursue both subjects, she came to believe that integration of art and science is important in sparking innovative thinking and developing problem solving skills. Creative thinking enhances the scientific method. Throughout her academic career, Meli has worked to incorporate the two disciplines together and will continue to do so throughout her career outside of academia. By highlighting the beauty that can be found in scientific processes, she demonstrates the creative processes that go into being a geologist, sparking interest in the Earth sciences.