It all started with a leaf dipped into wax…
My love affair with wax began innocently enough. I was taking a painting class and wanted to embed a leaf into the painting and preserve all the cracks, crumbles and morphing colors. I dipped that leaf into some candle wax and my quest for a medium wth dimension, texture and luminosity had begun!
The Empty Nest series is a meditative gestural response to an emotional time of transition. Have you experienced a time when life is all turmoil and it makes you want to find a new way to center yourself? I dove deep into those feelings as my crew set out on new adventures. I kept circling around the contradicting feelings of joy and uneasiness that was change only to come full circle back to the idea that life is full of change, rough spots and tunnels that must be lived.
Abstracts
Abstract mixed media pieces that fuse together my thoughts and impressions. Patterns and colors come together here in collages of whimsical themes that take me back to many nights spent with my best friend collaging paper bits of our treasured mags. Now I use encaustic medium instead of glue and layer in papers, gold leaf, pastels, powdered pigments charcoal and more! These abstracts represent my thoughts and treasures over time, stitched together like quilts and hidden and scraped back again and again.
Ebb & Flow
The Ebb & Flow series takes on a life of its own because each piece is very different and yet the colors bleed and blend, break into cells and swirl in similar patterns. I have applied layers of colors, each fused by blowtorch and then scraped wax back to reveal intricate patterns hidden below. Sometimes you can see hidden shapes and figures in the patterns.
When the gardens are in their glory, on every walk I take, I can’t help but stop and smell. And not just because the dog has to stop and smell! I can’t believe the incredible color combinations and the intricate shapes that appear before my eyes. The layers of petals, stamens and colors make far superior compositions to anything I could create. I love to capture some of the glory in textured, rich encaustics.