Hi, I’m Melanie!

A photographer, author, and a recently trained whale-rescuer, I am most often described by people who know me as CREATIVE. I love turning ideas into beautiful soul-filled products and processes designed to help people connect more deeply with one another.

PHILOSOPHY

Maybe my greatest passion is philosophy – gaining clarity, insight and understanding as to what, why, who and how it all fits together. I am a seeker of perennial wisdom always looking to get a sense of the bigger picture, to see the patterns and cycles at play and understand my place in the cosmos.

Favourite teachers include: Dr. Wayne Dyer, Sir David Hawkins, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Masaru Emoto, and the divine Holykaur Khalsa.

SCULPTURE

I love art and sculpture and have a particular weakness for NZ-made heavy metal:

WORDS

Words and symbols are a constant source of inspiration for me. I always have a pile of books I am in the middle of reading at any one time; my world is soaked in poetry, song lyrics, quote collections, foreign languages, runes, kanji, hieragylphs.

Favourite writers and poets include: Richard Bach, Dolores Cannon, Rumi, and Eckhart Tolle.

Some of my stories can be read here.

COOKIES

In my previous life I spent 20 years helping run a successful NZ biscuit business; the most challenging, exciting, and delicious life experience you could imagine.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I love looking at the world through the lens of my camera — it helps me to slow down and truly immerse myself in the unfolding moment.

Photo Gallery

See what I am photographing on Instagram at: @creatrixmelanie

To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place.... I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.

Elliott Erwitt

TRAVEL

Getting out of routine and becoming immersed in new cultures stimulates all my senses and feeds my soul. A few of my favourite places:

Heavenly Islands: The Maldives

Up-close animal encounters: The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Romantic: Venice, Italy

Spiritual: Machu Picchu, Peru

Photogenic: Morocco!

Ski destination: Courchevel 1850, France and the Southern Alps of NZ

Family adventure: Barging down the Canal de Midi, and Sailing through the BVI

Most unusual: Colombia - swimming in a volcano crater of warm mud

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

PROFESSIONAL BIOs – THIRD PERSON

Melanie is an author, artist, and photographer. She regularly sees the world through the lens of her camera, and writes about creative approaches to living a more authentic and fulfilling life.

After emerging from the rubble of one of the big Christchurch earthquakes in 2011, she adopted a cat and founded the Thankyou Project. Her aim is to help create a new currency of kindness based on gratitude:

As we re-evaluate and rebuild our lives, small moments of connection, often with strangers, have become a new currency here. I started the Thankyou Project to maintain and build on that amazing sense of community that was so strong when our city was at its weakest.

Inspired by her children and with a passion for creative expression, Melanie has written and illustrated hundreds of childrens’ books, [some of them edible]. She has also published many inspirational editions for family and friends including the timeless ABC of Wishes, Hopes, & Dreams, Goodbye for Times of Sadness & Loss, and Thankyou – Living in Gratitude.

Despite over 12,000 earthquakes, Melanie is still living in Christchurch, New Zealand where she balances the commitments of family life with her many creative passions, including her company Creatrix Ltd and the Thankyou Project.

SHORT BIO

Photographer, author, artist and creatrice, Melanie Mayell regularly sees the world through the lens of her camera. She has an ability to see and capture the magical play of light and colour during those everyday moments — around home and around the world.

Inspired by her children and with a passion for creativity, Melanie has written and illustrated hundreds of childrens’ books, [some of them edible]. Under her pen name Melanie G Mason, she has published many inspirational editions for family and friends including the timeless ABC of Wishes, Hopes, & Dreams, Goodbye for Times of Sadness & Loss, and Thankyou Living in Gratitude.

Despite over 12,000 earthquakes, Melanie is still living in Christchurch, New Zealand where she balances the commitments of family life with her many creative passions, including her company Creatrix Ltd and the Thankyou Project.

SUPER SHORT BIO

Melanie is an author, artist and photographer. She regularly sees the world through the lens of her camera, and writes about creative approaches to living a more authentic and fulfilling life. She founded the Thankyou Project in 2011 to help create a new currency of kindness based on gratitude. She has published four books; her latest one is Thankyou – Living in Gratitude.