Smile Sweet Sunflower LLC

09/05/2026

Blooming Cargo I & II, circa 2026

Blooming Cargo I & II is a recreation of my original design Tick Tock, circa 2011. The original work explored bewilderment and difficult-to-solve problems through symbolic imagery, incorporating elements of self-reflection from Heading Home alongside visual references to Kryptos—one of the world's most famous unsolved codes.

The 2026 edition brings the cargo into a new light. Within the proposed story of Lében, At the Garden, the train sinks at Tiktaalik Harbor. Blooming Cargo reimagines the train after that fate—not as a train that has risen again, but as a new iteration with the magical capacity to float and move steadily across water.

The train becomes a symbol of hope, renewal, steady movement, and prosperity for the future. What once represented bewilderment and the struggle to find answers is transformed into a vessel capable of carrying possibility forward.

Postscript: I’m happy to share my studio art—past, present, and future—with you all in a clean, accessible online format. 🌻

Explore my work at 🔗 smilesweetsunflower.org

09/03/2026

I’m excited and grateful to be part of the Penn Journal of Arts & Sciences (PJAS) community — a publication that brings together visual art, poetry, and writing in a format that moves easily between disciplines without treating them as separate categories.

I’m currently featured in PJAS through an Artists & Author Interview, exploring my work as a writer, storyteller, and visual artist, as well as my practice of allegorical storytelling and my ongoing exploration of philosophy, human flourishing, and our relationship with the natural world.

The feature offers a glimpse into my evolving narrative project, Lében — a world where storytelling, art, and ideas come together.

Thank you, PJAS/ Pennsylvania Journal of Arts and Sciences , for creating a space where art, writing, ideas, and storytelling can exist together. 🌱

Search “Melissa Allegories” at www.pjasmag.org to read the feature and explore my work.

09/03/2026

I’m grateful to be part of the PJAS Summer Show — Online Exhibition, alongside so many talented artists and authors.

I love that Penn Journal of Arts & Sciences (PJAS) brings together visual art, poetry, and writing without treating them as separate categories. You can find my work by searching Melissa Allegories at www.pjasmag.org, where you can also read my latest feature and learn more about my practice.

Thank you, PJAS/ Pennsylvania Journal of Arts and Sciences , for creating a space where art, writing, ideas, and storytelling can exist together. 🌿

08/10/2026

08/08/2026

I’m happy to share my studio art—past, present, and future—with you all in a clean, accessible web format. 🔗 smilesweetsunflower.org

07/22/2026

A moment of despair. A season of absence. A struggle toward what feels unattainable.

Even in life’s uncertainty—walking as a lone wolf—hope remains the only meaningful option when the alternative is dissolution.

Here’s my follow-up feature in Bold Journey’s Stories & Perspectives on Resilience Building series:

🔗 boldjourney.com/meet-melissa-allegories-3

07/21/2026

Madness, Jun. 2011

Graphite, Vine Soft Charcoal, Triplus Fine-liner Pens, Craft-smart Fine Line Paint Pens, Prisma-color Pencils, Sharpie Yellow Highlighter, Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Markers, Sharpie Paint Markers, Wax Crayons, Figma Brush Archival Ink Pens, Silver & Crimson Calligraphy Ink, Titanium White Liquitex Acrylic Ink, Black Star Waterproof India Ink, Coffee, & Fake Blood on Illustration Board.

60 x 16 inches

   

07/19/2026

Heading Home in Sequence, 2010

Color Pencil, Graphite, Acrylic Paint on Black Smooth Paper Image

60 1⁄2 x 45 inches

07/18/2026

Just when you think you’ve finally figured it out, you realize you’re middle-aged—and only just getting started. 🙄🌻

We’re just wildflowers, surrounded by palm trees and bird sounds.

Late in life, and part of the wilderness.