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Mel Remmers Studio

@melremmers

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Artist/Self Taught 2015⁣ ⁣ 📍Dallas TX
Creating my way through Stage 4 TNBC
Shop Studio Worldwide Shipping 👇🏼 Monthly Artist Correspondence Mel’s Mail

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The first time I went through chemo I shaved my head and thought it was about taking control. This time, it’s about love — and the quiet ways we take care of each other when everything else is out of our hands. #breastcancer #stage4breastcancer #getchecked taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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a year ago

Cancer is back.
My body knew before the radiology report did.

Calling all Mothering Trees. 🌳

That image keeps returning..the one I painted, wrote about, clung to when things first unraveled. The one that hears the distress and sends help.

Once again, I’m sounding the signal. And already, I feel the water rising from so many of you.

It’s been nearly three years of living in the in-between, with failed treatments and numerous side effects. Hearing the words “it’s back” is the fear every survivor carries into the scan room.

I am still processing what this means physically, emotionally and spiritually but I couldn’t stay silent any longer. So many of you have reached out. I have felt the love through the quiet.

I’ve moved on to a new care team. They’re listening, seeing the full picture, and already shifting what hope feels like in my body. Alongside my incredible family and friends they’re helping restore the ground beneath me.

There’s so much more to share, about gut instincts, uncertainty, advocacy, the way grief and gratitude braid together like roots.

I’ll be writing more soon in my newsletter: the FULL story, the next steps, and how I believe more than ever, “survival is a creative act”.
✨ Link in bio if you want to join me, once again “Behind the Curtain”.

#metastaticbreastcancer #mbc #TheHappinessProject #StillHere #getchecked taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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a year ago

⁣⁣⁣ I felt a lump on Saturday Oct 15th. On Monday Oct 17th I scheduled a mammogram for that same day. When approaching the machine to get my exam the technician asked if I had any changes since my last visit. I told her I found a lump and it felt sore on the left side. She did a physical exam and told me I needed a diagnostic mammogram. I was scheduled for that Wednesday Oct 19th, early morning. After the diagnostic I was taken into another room for an ultrasound. I was immediately alarmed when the radiology technician spent so much time in my armpit. She was focused on each picture as she placed measurements on the screen. At one point she asked “when did you feel this lump?” I told her just a few days ago. Then she asked if I was doing ok?⁣⁣
The Dr. Came in. ⁣⁣
Once again he also focused in my armpit. I became increasingly stressed but decided “ it’s fine”.⁣⁣
He told me I was finished and I can sit up. ⁣⁣
I don’t really remember what he said next. I just heard the words “Breast Cancer… Concerned with the sentinel node….You will be having a triple biopsy…. I’m sorry we had to meet like this” That’s all I remember. My head was swimming. This felt serious and I was blurry. ⁣⁣
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Biopsy was scheduled.
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I have no family history of breast cancer. ⁣
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Diagnosed : Invasive Ductal Sarcoma with lymph node involvement. At this point I am stage 3+ (approx) and awaiting my pet scan Tuesday morning. Right now the treatment plan is chemo, double mastectomy, removal of ovaries, radiation and hormone therapy. ⁣⁣
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MY husband has not left my side. My family is my greatest support along with an incredible cheer ⁣⁣
squad of chosen family. We are prepared to fight🙌🏼💪🏼🥊

I have been reflective on the fact that it was days after I finished my “Midsummer Collection” that this all began. A collection that felt so personal. I poured my heart into each one and it felt important. Was my body preparing? Did it know that I needed to do this?
(Read more..cont. In comments)
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💓ANNUAL SALE starts FRIDAY Nov 11-14th 20% off my entire website!! On the 15th I will be making my website private until January 2023.⁣ by @melremmers

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4 years ago

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7 days ago

Happiness Project- Fine Dining lands tomorrow at 10am CST.
Subscribers get the first taste.
Set a timer. These vintage tin plates go quick. taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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10 months ago

This month’s letters are on their way.

They mean a little more to me now than they did the day I wrote them.

Thank you for the hundreds of messages, prayers, and kind words you’ve sent these past few days. I’ve read every one. I wish I could respond to each of you personally, but please know how deeply loved and supported you’ve made me feel.

There are still many more pages to write. 🤍 taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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3 months ago

Before my paintbrush, there were pens. Lots of them.

When I was a child, I had pen pals.

Years later, my uncle handed me a box filled with letters I’d written to my grandmother throughout my life.

It felt like holding evidence.

Evidence that ordinary moments become meaningful when we choose to save them.

That’s the heart behind Mel’s Mail.

Art you keep. Letters you feel.

I’d love to send one your way. Read the full story and Join through the link in my bio. taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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5 months ago

Serving up the first piece from Happiness Project Vol. 5
“Cracked Egg” on an antique French tray.

This is the first of 50.

Release date will be announced to subscribers. Coming soon.

#antiques #frenchantiques #contemporaryart #dailyart #oilpainting taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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6 months ago

First DIY in over a year✨The before is not that shocking because I actually loved it “before”. It had 2 glass panels separating the kitchen/dining from our fireplace living room. My husband felt it needed more separation but I wasn’t sure. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
I woke up to a lot of noise the next morning and he already removed the panels. Soooo.. I went with it and we decided it needed a large piece of artwork to ground the new space. We measured a 60x42 and found a mural we liked from @eazywalls since I will be painting a mural on the other side of the kitchen I wanted to vary the look and it was easier and saved me energy.⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I took the idea that we did in our master bath where I used moulding to frame in the mural I painted. I found some trim and corner moulding that I liked and we put it together, painted it, added antiquing wax to give it an old world look, attached the mural to a board and then put it all together to look like a framed painting!! I LOVE IT!! The space has more warmth and is giving the vibe I originally was going for. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
Now for the nook space and OMG y’all when you see the score I am picking up today from FBM!! It’s so good! Stay tuned. taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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3 years ago

Today is World Cancer Day.

Three years ago, I was diagnosed with hormone positive breast cancer.
Today, I live with stage 4 triple negative disease.

No eyelashes.
No eyebrows.
Just me, exactly as I am.

Hearing the words there is no cure
is one of the cruelest things you can be told.

I live with cancer.
I’m in ongoing treatment.
And still, I’m here.

This isn’t about being brave or strong.
It’s about staying connected to your life,
even when it looks nothing like you imagined.
I’m learning that in real time.

My faith keeps me going,
especially on the days I don’t have answers.

Pay attention to your body.
Don’t dismiss the quiet changes.
If a test is overdue, book it.
Early detection matters.

Thinking of everyone living with this disease today and the families walking alongside them.

#WorldCancerDay
#GETCHECKED
#MetastaticBreastCancer

I’m still here.
Grateful for this day. taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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8 months ago

It’s here!! It’s finally here! My @oneroomchallenge Master bath and closet is done!!! I have lots of photos to share and they will be on my blog tomorrow. I want to thank my masterful and incredible husband, Ehli for all of his talent and skill to make this all happen! I’ve seriously dreamt of this bathroom and I can not believe it’s better than I ever imagined. Thank you to all of you who have been following along and being so invested in this space with me. I have a behind the scenes squad that can not be beat and could not keep going if it were not for the incredible efforts of so many! A huge cry and thank you is coming and I can not wait to share the last special piece..Unfortunately, it’s still in transit but it will not disappoint..promise! I have a video of this mural to share. This mural was painted free hand and I made up the birds as I went along. They kept me going and I love them so much! Again, Thank you to @oneroomchallenge and @betterhomesandgardens for this opportunity to share this space with so many! ❤️😭😘🍾🎊 taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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5 years ago

Update: SOLD OUT IN MINUTES 🥹😭🎊10 Years Y’all!!! This month marks ten years since I picked up a paintbrush for the first time and unknowingly stepped into the most surprising, painful, magical, and meaningful chapter of my life.⁣⁣
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A decade of creating.⁣⁣ Ten. Years.

Picking up that brush—with zero expectations—sparked what would become the most surprising, wild, painful, magical, exhausting, and sacred thing I’ve ever done.

Ten years of making art.
Ten years of building a business that would go on to generate a million in print sales.
Ten years of surviving a body that has broken my heart more times than I can count and healing it, bit by bit, one glob of paint at a time.
Of surviving.⁣⁣
Of finding beauty in broken things especially myself.⁣⁣
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I thought I’d throw a party. Maybe even a confetti cannon.⁣⁣
But the truth is, I’m tired. My body is still healing. My heart is holding both grief and gratitude in the same hand. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
But yet… here I am. ⁣⁣
Still showing up. ⁣⁣
Still painting.⁣⁣
Still laughing at things I probably shouldn’t.⁣⁣
Still whispering thank you to this beautiful, brave community that has helped me carry all of it.⁣⁣
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The Happiness Project began during one of the darkest times of my life.⁣⁣
Tiny paintings on vintage trays , olives, Diet Coke, sardines—random things that made me smile when nothing else.⁣⁣
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The Happiness Project isn’t just whimsy.⁣⁣
It’s become a movement. A therapy rebellion. Healing… on a tin tray.⁣⁣
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The best part was you saw it too.⁣⁣
You understood that joy can be delightful and sacred.⁣⁣
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This collection isn’t just a celebration of ten years.⁣⁣
It’s a love letter to survival.⁣⁣
To beauty, to heartbreak, to ridiculous hope.⁣⁣
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It’s live now.⁣⁣ 50 New Happiness Project Vintage Tray!!
April 13, 10 AM CST.⁣⁣
Thank you for being here.⁣⁣
With love and Diet Coke, Mel ⁣⁣
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#TheHappinessProject #10YearsOfMel #StillHereStillCreating #ArtasSurvival #HealingthroughArt taken in Dallas, Texas by @melremmers

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a year ago