Pushing into 3-D

Just got home from a 3 day advanced encaustic workshop with Larry Calkins thru the La Conner Art Workshops in Mt Vernon. First of all, I love Mt Vernon - wish I lived there and if I wasn't heading to Tucson in the fall, I'd move there.

Anyways, took this workshop with my friends Binky Bergsman and Judith Jackson and also met some new friends. I find I don't work well in a workshop environment but if I focus and get into my zone, I can make stuff happen. I'm used to working alone, especially when creating art, so the distraction of others, although often inspiring, oh yeah - you should see some of the stuff that was created there - anyways, the distractions can pull me out of the zone from time to time but it is worth it to learn the new skills and be inspired by the other art being created all around me.

So I had moved a bit toward the 3-d with my window pieces but in the workshop I was introduced to boxes. Larry supplied wood and saws and all sorts of tools and this allowed me to create "out of the box" pun intended, over what I would normally create in my studio. I see now I will have to venture out and purchase a few more tools, including a band saw. Below are the 2 boxes I finished and I have another in process - the third with a window to look in but of course, I haven't figured out what is going to go inside yet. I'll keep you posted of the 3-d developments and my new "box series".

Thanks a bunch to Larry for turning me on to new techniques and to Robyn for hosting the workshop.


Tranquility Box #1 Tranquility Box #2 Tranquility Box #2 detail

PS - box names and I found myself asking for tranquility on the first day as I was a bit stressed and needed something to focus on.

Encaustic Show in Seattle

My friend and fellow artist, Binky Bergsman and I hung some of our encaustic artwork at Uncle Elizabeth's Internet Cafe in Capital Hill last week. Our art will be there thru July and we will probably be there or in the area next month for the artwalk which is the 2nd Tuesday of the month. It's cool having our work shown together and we will be showing again in September at Local Color in the Pike's Place Market area. What I really enjoy about showing with Binky is that we get to hang out and spend time together. She is a wonderful woman, a great artist and a treasured friend.

I think I've spent too much time in the boonies because Capital Hill was a little funky for me and really - I'm usually quite comfortable with the funk - I'm part funk myself - LOL! But really - when the big city really feels like the big city, you know you need to get out more. HA!

And yes - the walls really were that yellow!

Illustration Blue Devils

This piece I created in response to an assignment in a design class to illustrate a story called "The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue" by Poe Ballantine. The mixed media encaustic piece includes imagery from the story including flies, venus flytraps, cigarette butts and of course blue devils, a popular drug of the sixties.

I am such an anti-smoking person that it was difficult and disgusting to collect the butts but I have found them to be interesting collage elements for my work. I am drawn to more 3d work and will be leaning in that direction on some new pieces I am working on.