Artist Statement:

The Moment Before the Choice captures a liminal instant where wonder hasn’t yet curdled into fear, and the path ahead is still a question rather than a consequence.

The figure stands not simply in a forest, but in an emotional ecology: suspended between childhood myth and adult realization. The mushrooms, oversized and otherworldly, represent both shelter and distortion. The curved path is intentional, disallowing foresight. The trees hold their breath.

This piece explores the tension between agency and innocence between taking the next step and holding on to the story we wish we were in.

It is not about Alice. It is about all of us.

Hashtags:

#TheMomentBeforeTheChoice #LiminalMyth #ThresholdNarrative #WhimsyAndWorry #PathToBecoming #StillnessBeforeStorm #RhondaMelo #Melora #Melora<3 #MeloraArtist

Artist Statement:

“Port of Departure” is the first in a visual sequence exploring thresholds the psychic landscapes we traverse in moments of change.

This figure is not arriving. She is leaving something she has not yet named.

The red balloon and apple suggest childhood relics or symbolic warnings, while the aircraft and suitcase signify planned escape. Her feet are bare not because she forgot shoes, but because this is a place beyond shoes. You don’t walk here. You remember.

Set above clouds and framed by forgotten flowers, Port of Departure asks:

When do we stop dreaming of return, and start becoming the departure?

It is part of my ongoing series Atlas of Lucid Reverie.

Hashtags:

#PortOfDeparture

#DreamcoreElegance

#SurrealistFashion

#LiminalMyth

#Melora

#Melora<3

#MeloraArtist

#RhondaMelo

#BarefootSymbolism

#ContemporarySurrealism

#FashionInFog

#NarrativeAesthetics

#RedBalloonRitual

#AppleOfExile

#AtlasOfLucidReverie