Melody Joy Overstreet is an artist, writer, weaver, and community educator based in a floodplain along the coast of California. Her work has been exhibited locally and internationally and is featured in publications including Loam Magazine, For the Wild, The New Farmer's Almanac, Seed Broadcast, and The Philosopher. She has participated in residencies with Kala Art Institute, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, The On Being Project, Casa Regis, and the Center for Culture and Contemporary Art, with a forthcoming residency at the Siena Art Institute in Italy in summer 2026.

She is the author of Reverberations, a book of place-based poems published locally in collaboration with Community Printers. She also authored and illustrated a children’s book, Water’s Song, forthcoming from Row House/Wheat Penny Press in 2026. Her work is held in both public and private collections and cultural archives.

In addition to her artistic and literary practice, Melody works as a Life Lab Garden Teacher, supporting children in cultivating relationships with the Earth. She is the recipient of a Gemological Award, a Community Engagement Grant, and a Peace Studio Fellowship for her work at the intersection of art, teaching, and land stewardship.

To learn more, visit reciprocalfield.com

🕺🏾It's Santa Cruz Dance Week! Put some spark in your step ✨

Motion Pacific is a community organization and dance studio for Every. Body. Motion Pacific queers the arts to build the world in which we want to live—joyful, liberated, and just. Through public events, Queer programming, and classes for all levels, Motion Pacific builds community and collaborates to create spaces of belonging.

Celebrate Santa Cruz Dance Week at Motion Pacific

Emily Coletta is Motion Pacific's Director of Communications. She learned how to dance as an adult and so can you.