After working in customer service for 10 years right out of high school, Western Slope native, Angie Messano decided it was time for a change. She began taking classes in business at Colorado Mesa University in the Fall of 2019. she discovered her natural artistic talent after taking her first art class, Art Appreciation. By the end of the fall semester of 2021, she decided to switch majors from Business to Studio Art. The studio has become her second home. She is often joined by her children ages 10 and 8 and encourages them to create alongside her. Messano is currently a senior and is on track to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in the Fall of 2025. Her goal as an artist is to create art based on her deepest subconscious thoughts and invites her viewers to connect and hopes that they can relate to her personal story told through her artwork
Isolated in the darkness of my mind, I made friends with the spiders that dwelled there. Creating art has led me to the light where I found the butterflies. I have been diagnosed with ADHD, depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. The practice of drawing and painting have become a form of meditation that helps me reflect and identify how I am feeling on a subconscious level. The spiders and butterflies that I create are representations of the positive, negative, or conflicting states of mind I am in while working through my complex emotions. The bright light and dark shadows allow my subjects to come to life and appear to pop off the page or canvas. The use of color brings an additional mood which gives the viewer the ability to relate and connect to my experiences in a way that cannot be expressed in words. Exploring the deepest parts of my subconscious through creating art brings me closer to inner peace, allowing the spiders and butterflies to coexist.
Angela Messano
alhendricks@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
(970)216-7443
@sketchy.teacup_art
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Candidate), Colorado Mesa University, Drawing and Painting concentrate Spring 2025, Grand Junction, CO
Gallery Show
2025
“XXXXXX”, CMU BFA Candidate Exhibition (Scheduled), 437CO Art Gallery, Grand Junction, CO
2024
Jac Kepart Colorado Mesa University Annual Juried Student Exhibition, Juror Keith Buswell, The Art Center or Western Colorado, Grand Junction, CO
2023
The Art Center or Western Colorado, Colorado Mesa University Annual Juried Student Exhibition, Juror Terry Shepard
Community Service
2024
437CO Art Gallery, Keith Buswell Exhibition, gallery assistant
The Art Center or Western Colorado, Demo Night, print making
2023
The Art Center or Western Colorado, Jac Kepart Colorado Mesa University Annual Juried Student Exhibition, Gallery assistant
Colorado Mesa University, Artober Fest, Iron Pour
Publication
2024
The Literary Review, page 97, spring addition
2023
Horizon Magazine, cover photo, fall issue.
Workshop
2023
Art Center or Western Colorado, Raku Firing, Terry Shepard
Scholarships
2024-2025
Opal Snowder (Suzi) Boyd (3000.00)
2023-2024
Davis Fund Boundless Opportunity (300.00)
Other Experience
2024-2025
Colorado Mesa University, Art and Design Department- 2D Professors Eric Elliott and Josh Butler
Colorado Mesa University, TRIO, Club Member