Melissa Scherrer Paré -- Nightingale

Melissa Scherrer Paré
Nightingale, 2026
Paper pulp, acrylic over found form
16 x 10 x 6 in.

Melissa Scherrer Paré is a Milwaukee-based artist whose recent work transforms mass-produced and discarded objects through the craft of paper pulp. She covers found vessels with pulp made from the pages of used books, creating colorful, one-of-a-kind objects that explore the relationship between craft, decoration, material, and value. Her work brings together the quickly changing world of fast décor with the physicality of handmade objects, while the titles of the source books introduce unexpected connections between text and form.

"Using discarded and thrifted vases as my starting point, I cover each vessel with pulp made from the pages of used books, turning inexpensive decorative objects into colorful, highly crafted works.

"My surfaces are built from repeated, abstracted motifs, while the content of each source book develops independently from the visual design. Once pulped, the words become texture, pattern, color, and form. Each vessel takes its title from the book used to make it, retaining the book’s identity even as its original text disappears.

"The work brings together the quickly replaced world of fast décor with the physicality and craft of making by hand. In the process, both the decorative object and the book take on new lives, histories, and meanings."