ABOUT ENCAUSTICS
The Greek word 'Encaustikos,' means: "to heat" or "burn in," which is central to the encaustic process. The Greeks and Egyptians were originally drawn to its preservation properties, and then invented ways to color the wax paint for more creative use. Many of their paintings still exist today!
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Modern encaustic medium is a combination of beeswax and damar resin, a sap that comes from deciduous trees in southeast Asia. Color is added to the medium using dry pigments or oil paints. Encaustic paint is melted on a hot plate between 180-200 degrees Farenheit before an artist can paint with it. After painting each layer, it is essential that the paint be fused with a torch or heat gun so the paint will grab on to the surface area beneath it. When the paint cools, an artist may add texture and other media to the painting.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
I am an encaustic painter, photographer and printmaker who has spent the last 15 years educating children and adults in the arts. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a BA in Art from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa, I continue my arts education through workshops and specialized instruction. My encaustic paintings explore personal stories with themes of healing, human connection and hand-written correspondence.
I am an encaustic painting instructor, working artist, curator and advocate for the arts in Walnut Creek, California. My encaustic paintings are collected, exhibited and sold in galleries throughout the United States. I have acted as the Social Media Chair of Valley Art Gallery in Walnut Creek, CA since 2016. In 2024 I began serving as the Exhibition Director for the International Encaustic Artists organization (IEA). In 2022 I co-founded the NorCAL Wax Chapter, an IEA extension.
That same year, I created Hope Lives: Art for ALS, an annual fundraising art exhibition in San Francisco, to honor my sister who was diagnosed with ALS in July 2020. Partnering with the ALS Network and the ALS Therapy Development Institute, the exhibition raises awareness and provides funding for ALS research.
In addition to my teaching studio, I film encaustic tutorials on my YouTube channel "The Encaustic Edge." I am an art business coach and web designer for older artists and volunteers at several galleries and art institutions in the Bay Area. My artwork exhibits and is collected nationally and internationally.
ABOUT MY INSPIRATION
I love to educate my viewers about the encaustic medium while discovering how my artwork resonates with them. Sharing my artwork reminds me that I am part of a larger community.
Themes in my work include healing and human connection. For me, handwritten notes and letters play an important role in human connection. I include original correspondence or visual patterns that tie together in a particular way to represent emotions, relationships and/or familiarity.
Other times I use asemic writing, which is a freeform way of creating images of text without the use of language. When words fail me, these scrawled out passages represent my deepest feelings.
When dried flowers, plants or pressed flora are part of my paintings, they are a visual clue for the passage of time. Attributes that society associates with their beauty have (seemingly) passed, they mirror attitudes on aging while at the same time reflect on the power of memory.
My paintings are heartfelt abstractions met with real life experiences. They are my visual responses and reactions to my experiences. Intimate stories are layered in my paintings leaving room for reflection and introspection.