Melissa Kojima is from a small town in southern California and grew up in many smaller towns in Oregon where she stuck out like a sore thumb for being too thoughtful, too curious, too inquisitive and too creative. She felt awkward in her big, conservative family, never fitting in or sharing the same values as them. To this day, she still is searching for a place where she feels accepted and belongs. Through her spooky and mysterious storybook-like artwork which ranges from large pencil drawings, acrylic paintings and strange paper-clay sculptures, she express her feelings of being awkward, invisible, strange and lonely and her hope to find where she belongs as if it is a journey through strange lands to find strange characters like herself.

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