Karma

Timing is everything. 

 "Drought", 12" x 12" encaustic on cradled panel

At the last minute, I found out and signed up to attend an encaustic workshop end of July, and knew it was a perfect way to better educate myself using the encaustic medium. One of the techniques I learned from Laura Moriarty in her workshop clicked and was my "aha" moment with wax. I realized layering colored wax and then scraping it away allowed for a more dimensional, sculptural use of the medium. It was the opposite of what I had been doing - taking wax away rather than building it up - and this new way of seeing shapes and colors captured hold of me.

A month later when I visited my daughter in Seattle I became aware of the Aboriginal exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum and although I missed seeing the exhibit I was able to purchase the exhibit book. The Aboriginal view of the world has been another "aha" moment for me. The textures and shapes that seem simple and abstract are actually depictions of places, people, or stories. So much is expressed in their eloquent, simplified way. 

Landscape paintings are my passion, seeing and creating abstractly has been a goal of mine for a while. It was Karma - to learn the skill then realize a new way of seeing the world, simultaneously.

"Sand Hills", 6" x 6" encaustic on board

Because the encausticbord was flat and not cradled, I decided to use a frame to add display depth and highlight the contrasts in this smaller work.