About

About Norm Melichar

Born July 6, 1954 — Catholic school guilt and all.

I made the switch to public school in 7th grade, where I leaned into Latin, music, and theater. I went on to earn a BS and an MS from UNO — yes, a counseling degree, which still surprises people. Then I spent 36 years teaching elementary school.

Art has been the through-line in all of it.

I'm self-taught, and I work with what most people throw away. There's something that genuinely excites me about pulling beauty out of discarded materials — finding the thing hiding in the trash. My work spans collage, masks, and sculpture, and the materials usually lead the way.

I've had gallery shows. Whether past ones matter is debatable. Future ones do matter to me — and I'm working toward them.

Selling my work would be wonderful. It doesn't always happen. I keep making things anyway.

That's what dreamers do.