Melanie Chikofsky’s long and varied career as an artist/educator began in childhood. Her first forays where in ceramics until she attended a specialized art program at the secondary school level, followed by studies at Sheridan College School of Design, all contributing to a wide-ranging passion for art that also informed her zeal for teaching.
After graduation, Chikofsky made high fashion hats that were seen in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, on runways in Tokyo, at the Inner Circle at Ascot, and numerous fashion shows for Toronto designers. Melanie produced a jewellery line that sold across Canada and accessories for the body and home for high end retail locations, all in an effort to support her passion for the fine arts, especially sculpture.
In her mid-thirties Melanie had an accident that resulted in a number of reconstructive surgeries spanning a decade. During this difficult period, she taught art to elementary school students in the Toronto inner city, where a lack of funding sparked an inventive and resourceful approach to both her teaching and her art.
The vicissitudes of life have continued to shape Chikofsky as an artist. Since 2000, she has been the Director and Lead Instructor at the Al Green Sculpture Studio School, where teaching adults sculpture has propelled the acquisition of many new technical skills that have had a profound impact on her current art practice
Chikofsky has been exhibiting her art since 1983, primarily in group and solo exhibitions, In 2020 Melanie won the KDS Fibre & Textile Award, Established Female Artist award, from the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum In 2019, she was awarded a sponsored award for ”Relic I” by The Japanese Paper Place, and in 2008, Melanie was awarded “Best in Show Award” for “Threadbare” both from juried Ontario Society of Artists exhibitions. A short documentary about Melanie and her exhibition “Remains To Be Seen” was produced in 2019 by CBC the Exhibitionist. .
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