Brief Statement

I am an abstract encaustic painter. Using wax, I create smooth surfaces with imagery resembling textile and tile through the weaving of repeated lines. My work makes visible the invisible worlds of the mind and spirit in order to foster greater unity between the material and immaterial.

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Full Artist Statement

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I like stuff that you can’t quite place in time. It can look like the future, and it can also look ancient. - Jackie Ferrara, American sculptor and draftswoman

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I am an abstract encaustic painter captivated by the idea of making the invisible visible. Instead of creating representational imagery of the physical world, I look to the natural world for metaphors that reflect the changeability of the unseen psychological and spiritual landscape. Generally, my paintings are two-dimensional explorations of these intangible realities using geometric shapes that wind and weave their way through the surface like pathways. I also explore these same concepts through assemblage. Using repurposed materials, I cut, paint, and build relief sculptures. Transforming  common objects into something new adds a layer to the connection between the materials and the concepts that interest me: spiritual journey and, more specifically, transformation. 

 

Grids are foundational to my work. Within this structure I am able to organize thoughts and make creative decisions. Heavily influenced by architecture and repeated forms found in the natural world, I construct designs that act as portals and pathways to unseen worlds. The idea that less is more is an underlying principle that guides these compositions stripping away distractions and enabling greater focus. Simple, measured lines offer stability as they rhythmically guide the eye through the work and grant a glimpse of what is beyond the surface.

 

The medium of encaustic found me almost 20 years ago and is my preferred medium of communication as it’s physicality and diaphanous qualities emulate my conceptual ideas. I enjoy how the wax affords me the ability to use precision while, at the same time, lends itself well to roughly textured surfaces that take on a wabi-sabi affect. It is the paradox of the broken up hard-edges where I find beauty, as well as in the physical act of digging and scraping the wax as it reflects the mining of my thoughts and soul and so exposes those things which were once hidden.