How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives, wrote Annie Dillard. Melissa Ferreira spends hers in the studio, in the garden and in the company of loved ones including those who purr. Daily inspiration becomes visual in her notebooks, paintings, collages, low-relief pieces and 3D art.  Whatever the medium, Melissa's work (or is it better called play?) reflects a dreamer’s vision. As a member of the illustration faculty at the Rhode Island School of Design during its winter session for over twenty years, Melissa has a personal approach to creativity that she teaches: ask questions and try to respond honestly and wholeheartedly. Try again … and, yes, again. This New Englander with Portuguese-American roots now spends her days making art, and dreaming, in Brittany, France.