About the Artist

Melissa Diaz graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in May, 2005. She majored in Illustration, minored in Art Education and took a concentration in Experimental Animation.

Melissa's Masters year was cut short due to an exciting opportunity in the illustration field. Shortly after she graduated, Hot Topic picked up her Precious Miseries series. Around the same time, an entertainment company expressed an interest in her character, StiTcheS.

While Melissa and Hot Topic are not currently working together anymore, Precious Miseries dolls are still being sold through their stores. Melissa is working with an advertising agency to help further her knowledge in the business of art, while still attempting to keep Precious Miseries and StiTcheS alive and flourishing. In her spare time, she is also continuing to create original stories and art.

Although Melissa's most notable work is Precious Miseries, she does not consider it her best creation. Melissa finds more pleasure in art that holds a deeper meaning for her, which you can view in her illustration portfolios.

An Artist's Personal Note

Many people have asked me 'how did you get so good?' or 'were you just born with talent?' While I'd like to pretend that I am a complete natural at art, that would be a lie. I was rarely the 'best' artist in class. In middle and the first half of high school I was considered 'average'. When I transferred into a different high school for my last two years, I was inspired and driven by the new art program and improved my skills rapidly. At that point I felt I was 'above average', but because of my upbringing I knew there was still much to learn.

My frame of thought was confirmed when I went to college and became an amatuer again; I wasn't even in the top 500 of the 'best' at MICA. Everyone in every class seemed to be better in many ways. So, 'how did I get to be so good' you wonder? I worked harder than I had ever worked in my entire life. While people partied, went to bars or spent time on relationships, I worked to further my artistic skills. Revising a quote from August Rush, "I love art more than I love food"; and trust me when I say that I love food.

I do believe that I was born with talent, but perhaps, instead of being purely artistic, it is a talent for drive, passion and fierce determination. If I'm not good at something I want to excel in, I will work day and night, as long as neccesary, in order to surpass it. In art you cannot get something for nothing. If you are like me, not born an artistic genius, you are going to have to want it more than anyone; you'll have to work for it harder and longer than everybody else you know.