www.instagram.com/wanderingartsandcrafts/

Melinda Irby is the artist behind Wandering Arts and Crafts. After receiving her BFA from Longwood University in VA, she worked as the Master Decorator at Emerson Creek Pottery in Bedford, VA for 10 years. She has been working independently for 8 years since moving to Hendersonville, NC from Bedford, VA.

Her art is inspired by nature, backpacking, hiking trails, and exploring state and national parks. She is an Appalachian Trail section hiker, currently at 1,000 miles hiked and counting. When she hikes or travels she brings her nature journal and sketches all the interesting things she discovers. It is a huge source of inspiration, and she usually adds these sketches and discoveries to her larger scale artwork. She is also a Guest Guide with Blue Ridge Hiking Company in Asheville, NC.

When she isn’t creating artwork or hiking, she continues to explore WNC and its unique flora and fauna and finding inspiration in its diversity.