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Aims alumna Mel Calderon is an accomplished artist, muralist and illustrator with roots in Greeley. Mel’s journey and time at Aims Community College are transformative, guiding her through personal and creative growth, with a career with Disney and as an independent artist.
She first attended Aims directly after high school. Mel was drawn to its supportive environment. "Aims was just kind of that little half-step in between,” she said. “I'm so glad I did. It made things less stressful and got me in that college mindset before moving on to a university.”
Mel initially pursued library science, driven by her love of storytelling. “I was really interested in storytelling,” she said. “It’s amazing how stories connect us.” This led her to earn a bachelor's degree in English at UNC. Her time at the university offered her more academic experience and narrative techniques that would later influence her artistic voice.
One of the most impactful parts of her time at UNC was the opportunity to participate in the Disney College Program during her junior year. This experience immersed her in a world where storytelling and creativity came alive on a grand scale.
She felt drawn to Florida, but Mel returned to UNC to finish her degree. After completing her bachelor’s, Mel returned to Disney, exploring creative roles that would spark her path as an artist.
Mel’s evolution at Disney started with operational roles, including working on the "It’s a Small World" attraction. She then moved into Disney’s events and entertainment departments, allowing her to explore special effects makeup and performance work. This included time on Captain Jack Sparrow’s pirate crew. "That was my first foray into art,” she admitted. “It was special effects makeup on pirates. So we did cool black eyes and scars and beards and mermaids."
The experience eventually led her to a position as a designer for Disney's iconic window displays at locations across Magic Kingdom, Disney Springs, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. Creating these imaginative, intricate displays solidified her connection to visual storytelling and ignited her confidence as an artist.
After a decade at Disney, Mel returned to Greeley and enrolled back at Aims to pursue a path in visual art. Mel explored new artistic mediums that broadened her skills, even trying ceramics—a subject she hadn't considered before. She found this experience invaluable in pushing her out of her comfort zone.
"The art program made me so much more of a well-rounded artist, being able to take all of these different classes and learning different kinds of art."
Mel also reconnected with Stephanie Newton, an art professor and Chair of Visual & Performing Arts at the college. She was enrolled in a class with Newton during her first time at Aims and liked her as an instructor. This renewed connection grew into a mentorship and friendship, culminating in a significant artistic opportunity: creating the “Shed” mural on the doors of the Ed Beaty Art Gallery.
For Mel, painting a mural in a gallery she had once passed as a young student symbolized a full-circle moment and growth. “I don't normally do a lot of serious artworks, but that one was really. I had an important thing that I wanted to say, and I was able to say it on a large scale to the public." She elaborated on the mural's symbolism, "It spoke to people about being able to shed things that are no longer important to you." The mural received positive feedback, resonating with many who found inspiration in its themes of change and self-discovery. This temporary mural was displayed during the summer of 2024.
Through her studio, Raven and Rabbit Studios, Mel has expanded her artistic reach beyond murals, creating greeting cards, stickers, and prints that bring her playful, often humorous style to a broader audience. Her bumper stickers and prints have found fans globally, with orders coming from as far away as the U.K., Canada, and Australia. Mel’s presence in the Greeley art scene is also a way to share her unique voice in her hometown community.
At Mariposa Plants and Flowers, Mel also works as a part-time florist. She has brought the shop’s windows to life with seasonal, ever-changing murals. These window murals are a dynamic canvas for Mel to showcase her creativity in new and unexpected ways. "I get to scrape it off and bring something new to downtown twice a year… it’s amazing,” she said. With a mural, it’s there for years, but this is interesting and new multiple times a year."
Mel created a larger mural inside the shop's workshop space, inspired by vintage science books and styled as a curiosity cabinet. The mural features insects, flowers, and objects that appear to be coming to life, like an octopus escaping its jar, giving the space a whimsical, almost magical atmosphere that reflects her artistic voice.
Mel’s mural at Pope Farms Produce & Garden Center at 6501 W 28th Street was one of her first large-scale public art projects in Greeley.
Every day on her commute, she would notice the empty white space on the building and envision how it could be transformed. Eventually, she gathered the courage to approach the owners with her idea, and they embraced her vision. This mural marked her first big project locally.
For Mel, it represented a leap of faith in her artistic ability and the start of a fulfilling career creating large-scale art.
In 2023, Mel contributed to Greeley's public art by creating "Knitting Compassion." It’s a mural on a traffic utility box at 10th Street and 28th Avenue.
This artwork serves as a tribute to her late grandmother. Mel shared that her grandmother was "an incredible longtime member of our Greeley community" and "a very talented knitter" who crafted items like baby hats for infants at Northern Colorado Medical Center and shawls for chemotherapy patients.
She called these creations 'yarn hugs,' made anonymously out of compassion for others.
Each of these projects reflects Mel’s artistic journey, her passion for community, and her dedication to creating art that resonates with people personally, whether it’s a large mural or a small, witty sticker. Mel has advice for aspiring artists.
"Just practice, practice, practice... Try different styles, try different color palettes, try different challenges. Just keep doing it. It's just trying all of these things and figuring out what your style is right now."
