iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Popping on to share a few shots from the studio lately. Oil paintings and watercolors of the Oakland Redwood forest and Eastern Sierra Mountains.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

It was SO HOT today. I wore green pants and yeah, welcome to summer in the east bay! 🥵

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

Went out to paint the poppies at Shell Ridge today. Felt so good to be outside and study the colors from life. Looking forward to doing this again soon!

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

#pleinairpril day 1: two studies of the Poppies and Lupine at Shell Ridge on Mt. Diablo. Gouache and colored pencil in a talens art creation sketchbook!

Gouache painting of a single orange poppy blowing in the wind with lupine surrounding it in purple and pink. Leaves and blades of grass peak through.

A Western Bluebird sits on a rusted out wheelbarrow drawn in colored pencil. Whispy poppies and lupine blow in the grassy background

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Victoria Ying @victoriaying.com · 29/03/2025

A four panel meme from "The White Lotus," S3, Ep,6, Panel 1: Saxton: Why can't you just like my geneative A*I art?
Panel 2: Chelsea: You have to be vulnerable enough to be bad at something to be good at it, but you're too much of a coward.
Panel 3: Chelsea: Because you're soulless.
Panel 4: Saxton disassociating

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Absolutely ready for Miyazaki to turn into the angry earth spirit in Princess Mononoke to consume AI image generators whole. We. Have. Had. Enough.

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Dan Liimatta @danliimatta.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Yumyan A commission for @perseuspercy.bsky.social Was an honour to paint him

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

you know what, I do really love that MySpace Tom is not in fact participating in a hostile government takeover.

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Cloudy🐈 @hellocloudy.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

little babushcat ✨

a hand holding a small ceramic ring dish, shaped like a head of a calico cat dressed in a green babushka scarf with daisies on it

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Simkaye 🌈 @simkaye.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

The emboldened, rising tide of fascism in the US has me reflecting a lot about the importance of standing up for our marginalized communities in meaningful ways. There is power in unity - we must build our communities, support our neighbors, and stand together.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

It lives!! My zine on how to have a go bag is in proofreading and editing stages. So excited to get this out there, assemble it, and start raising funds for folks impacted by the LA fires.

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Boze Herrington, Library Owl @sketchesbyboze.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

Ursula le Guin, on the accusation that fantasy is an escape from reality

[“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape? The moneylenders, the know-nothings, the authoritarians have us all in prison; if we value the freedom of the mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can.”]

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Thank you for saying this!! There are so many layers here but we all have to find ways to support ourselves and our art.

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Sophie Labelle @assignedmale.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Now more than ever.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Need some inspiration for something you can do today to piss off a billionaire? You too, can remove all Meta apps from your phone! This shot will be the opener or ending of my next video essay on YouTube about leaving Instagram for clarity and creativity

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

Went hiking in the Redwoods during the pouring rain. The mist felt out of a fantasy world today!

green toned fog layers between tall redwood trees. in the foreground is a darker redwood and bay laurel tree surrounded by intense dark greens

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Jeff Hong @chromacorg.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

#coastcard

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adrienne maree brown @adriennemareebrown.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

two drafts

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Jeremy Miranda @jeremymiranda.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

What do we call this kind of night? It’s not necessarily inviting yet not completely stark.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

If you are feeling overwhelmed right now, focus on how to create. Make a list of your favorite materials and write down why you gravitate towards them. Hone in on what brings you joy when using certain art supplies or instruments can be critical for turning to those instead of scrolling.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

This is an excerpt from the script of my latest YouTube video. If you like what I shared, you can watch me paint while I talk more about this idea. Can Mushrooms Teach Us About Enduring the Dystopia of 2025?🌱🍄🎨 youtu.be/4krJsYpuKzQ

youtu.be

Can Mushrooms Teach Us About Enduring the Dystopia of 2025?🌱🍄🎨

YouTube video by Persistent Bloom

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

you are either in a space of pulling back and syncing in to your most intimate communities offline OR you are puffing up your chest, ready to grow taller, continue sharing your story, and growing the network that is rooted underground.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

As I go into 2025 as a public facing queer person, I trying to be filled with more hope than fear. I will not lean into doomer sentiments because I feel it is important to be a fruiting body. If you are like me you probably feel like being either the mycelium or the fruiting body right now.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

the ones we see are fruiting bodies, part of a much larger network thriving within the soil called the mycelium. The community of the mushroom exists primarily underground, but a few pop forward for the fungi to spread spores and increase the strength of the larger, underground system.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

mushrooms have some beautiful analogies about community, persistence, and communication that will be important for us to consider in response to our new political reality

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Finished some proper documentation of a few recent adventure oil paintings inspired by hikes in Northern California.

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pickle_back @pickle-back.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

#octaviabutler #parableofthesower #booksky

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

I loved these illustrations in high school. Sad to hear of his passing!

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ocasio-cortez.house.gov · 22/01/2025

SHARE WIDELY. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights. You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one. (1/3)

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Having loads of fun painting mushrooms to keep my spirits up. It’s wild to think about everything underneath the surface of a forest that we can’t see. #nature #oilpainting #landscapepainting

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MondoAB @mondoab.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Sagan was a prophet.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

If you resonate with this, join me over on Discord for a free Creativity Club sometime.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

If you are struggling with the craving for TikTok or the need to check IG because you’re participating in the boycott, please turn to creativity. Of any kind. Doodle Coloring books Take photos Practice music Sketch Knit or Crochet Learn to sew. Work with your hands Preferably with others.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Everyone is talking about the Parable of the Sower but it is more than a dystopian novel. It is about learning to recognize when things get bad, all we have is each other. Deepen community, practice compassion, don’t expect perfection. Prepare a go bag, and hold your people tight.

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Mel Mitchell-Jackson | Persistent Bloom Retreats @melmitchelljackson.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Welp, Meta's content moderation policy is about to turn threads into a verifiable dumpster fire so I guess I am starting from scratch again! Hi, I'm Mel and I'm an adventure artist. That means I hike all the time and turn the inspiration I collect thru sketches & photos into paintings

gouache painting of a grouping of granite boulders in joshua tree national park at sunset.

oil painting of a rusted out jeep shell covered in coyote brush and ferns

a sketchbook spread of two watercolor paintings. one of chifrijo, a costa rican pork dish and a quetzal bird in bright green foliage

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