Melanie Finlayson is a Mother, Printmaker and Community Outreach Coordinator for Toe River Arts.  Originally from Albany, NY has been living in Spruce Pine, NC since 2010 when she accepted the position as the Print, Letterpress, Books & Paper Studio Coordinator at Penland School of Craft. She received her BFA in Printmaking and Sculpture from Plattsburgh State University and MFA in Print Media from Cranbrook Academy of Arts. She has exhibited her prints nationally & internationally and taught workshops at Penland School of Craft, Sawtooth Visual School of Art, Bluseed Studios, Double Island Studio and multiple colleges. Melanie has been invited as a Resident Artist to Bluseed Studios, Haystack Open Studio Residency, Penland Winter Residency and Venice Printmaking Residency.  While working at Penland she embarked on her own entrepreneurial enterprise as the founder of Green Plum Press and Gallery. She renovated a long-vacant storefront in downtown Spruce Pine, NC and transformed it into a co-op studio and gallery. From 2011-2014 she managed exhibitions and provided guest collaborators and curators a space and opportunity to start contemporary conversations, communicate ideas, provoke thought & stimulate action. Her vision was fulfilled with successful invitational exhibitions, lectures, performances and short-term residencies.  Melanie is committed to supporting the creatives in the world, while raising her daughter and continuing her creative practice in her home studio.