Vignettes in Wax and Words - 2020 IEA Juried Exhibition in Digital Magazine Format

Vignettes in Wax and Words 2020 IEA Juried Exhibition In Digital Magazine Format

A digital publication of International-Encaustic-Artists.org 1

Board of Directors S. Kay Burnett President

Melissa Lackman Vice President

Bonnie Raphael

Mary Jo Reutter

Secretary

Treasurer

Rhonda Raulston Tech Director

Liz Hampton-Derivan

Shary Bartlett

Exhibitions Director

Social Media Director

Paul Kline Member-at-large

Shari Lyon

Michelle Robinson

Member-at-large

Member-at-large

Front cover, The Storm by Heidi Rufeh Encaustic and oils on wood panel, 12 x 12 in 2

From the Editors vignette 1) a brief evocative description, account, or episode 2) a small illustration or portrait photograph which fades into its background without a definite border 3) a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or character and gives a trenchant impression about that character, an idea, setting, and/or object The “vignette in wax” could be a painting, sculpture, assemblage, or installation that included wax (encaustic, cold wax, or any other waxbased medium) as a primary element of the piece.

The “and words” are an evocative description that describes or enhances the art — a poem, a story, a journal entry, or a feeling put into words.

Last fall, when we decided to host a digital-juried exhibition that would be open to IEA members around the world, we had no idea it would be so timely.

We received an interesting and inspirational selection of entries from Austria, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States. Many of them reflected this historic time we are living in. Some brought tears to our eyes. Others made us laugh.

We want to thank everyone who submitted an entry. You certainly made the selection process difficult for our juror, Lora Murphy. Her selections reflect a wide spectrum of styles and techniques in 2D and 3D and illustrate how diverse and seductive wax can be.

This IEA-juried exhibition in digital magazine format is free and available to the public. We encourage you to share this exhibition with anyone interested or working in the visual arts, looking for information on encaustics, or beginning to explore the world of encaustics.

S. Kay Burnett Paul Kline 3

About the Juror

Lora Murphy Lora Murphy was born in Ireland and educated in Ireland, the United States, and Italy. Lora earned honors degrees in both History of European Painting and Archaeology before training as an oil painter in a traditional atelier in Florence, Italy.

The discovery of encaustic changed her life, and she now works primarily in encaustic and mixed media. As she says, "Once I tried encaustic, I was totally hooked, and I have been fortunate to be able to apply my traditional knowledge of painting to the encaustic medium.

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Hope Springs Encaustic, collage on panel, 28 x 14 in

And I found along the way that I just love teaching. I am so inspired by watching all of my students gain so much confidence and reach new levels with their work. Even those with no experience of either encaustic or portraiture can do amazing work.�

After living and painting all over the world, Lora moved back to her Irish roots in 2018, and she created a vibrant and hugely popular art school in the West of Ireland, Essence of Mulranny (E.O.M.) Studios at Mulranny Co Mayo, where she welcomes visiting teachers and students from many countries. Lora teaches workshops in Contemporary Portraiture in Encaustic at E.O.M. Studios and online, as well as offering a yearly-painting trip to Egypt.

Lora sold her first paintings at 12-years old and has shown her work since 1985.

She has exhibited widely in Ireland, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and the United States, and she counts collectors from Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.

For more information, 
 please go to www.loramurphypaintings.com www.essenceofmulranny.com https://vimeo.com/395782066.

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From the Juror Dear Artists, I was hugely honored when asked to be the Juror for this show, and then I realized when I saw the incredible works of art that followed, how daunting and subjective my task would be.

The standard of work was extremely high, and as I worked my way through the many submissions, I realized how much of my opinions were simply what I like, what moves me, and what leaves me untouched. I looked very closely at the words that accompanied the paintings and tried to experience the artists’ intent. I also considered the technical aspects of how this difficult medium was used. At the same time, I was frequently delighted with the quality of the painting and the many ways artists worked with wax. Looking at the overall design and composition of the art works, I was truly humbled by the brilliance of many of these works.

Jurying an exhibition of this caliber is difficult, so please forgive me if your work does not appear on these pages. In the end, I had to go with my gut feeling and make decisions based on what I personally would love to have on my walls!

I spent a long time agonizing over my decisions and second guessing my choices, but ultimately, I would be thrilled to own any of these works.

Truly, your Art is stellar!

Much love, Lora Murphy Back cover, Nesting Place by Panto Trivkovic Wax on hardboard, 60 x 40 cm 6

Selected Artists Juror Award

Shary Bartlett

Carolyn Berry

Lyn Belisle

Tangled Forest

Attack

On the Same Page

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14

12

Susana F. Blanco

Maureen Outlaw Church

Sandstorm

Cow Love 2

16

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Juror Award

Juror Award

Anne Curran

Andy DeWeerdt

Old Layered Mapped

Characters

20

24

Katharine Dufault

Connie Ehindero

Moonscape

Fields of Wander

28

30

Phyllis Bryce Ely

Gretchen Forrest

Belderrig Waves

Shine

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34 All stories, poems and quotes are by the artist unless stated otherwise.

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Selected Artists

Penny Gunderson

Alison Fullerton Native Women Warriors

Dr. Temple Grandin

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Whitney Krueger

Beate Kratt Segas Semterces Rua

Sea Change

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Juror Award Anne McCune

Jamie McPhail

Conor Pass

Shadowman

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Otty Merrill Our Lady of the Recycling Center

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Tami Phelps

Amanda Pierce

The Child is Father of the Man

Dream Catcher Totem

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72

Rhonda Raulston The Seven Gates

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Nancy 
 Torbitt-Stewart Every Woman Has a Story

Deanne Row

Melissa Rubin

Gravity

Shining Through

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Panto Trivkovic Nesting Place

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94 All stories, poems and quotes are by the artist unless stated otherwise.

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Susan Hess

Bobbi Kilty

Urban Nest

The Red Fox

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Patricia Leeds

Ursi Lysser

Inspire

Strangers No. 1 - 5

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In the Fold of Everything

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Jennifer Pretzeus

Travel Restrictions An Unauthorized Flirtation

Woods at Dawn

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80

Jean K Stephens

Heidi Rufeh The Storm

Sorority #1

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Regina B. Quinn

Healing Rock

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Sunset at the Old Pier

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In Search of Lost Time

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Lara Williams

Change of Season Rhapsody II

Deborah Peeples

Kylie T Millar

Melissa Porter

Cynthia Makara

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Shelley Wuitchik Emerging

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Yulia Mamontova Zabrodina Solzhenitsyn Street, Moscow

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Tangled Forest Shary Bartlett To Blindness It's the light that tricks: yellow-green, just after rain when sun – so brief and brilliant – lures eyes from inside toil to wet-slicked deck, sky stamped blue with splendour.

But mind. That mirrored glaze will seize your throat, snag your breath, wail its shiny fist and call: “Is this all?

Is this all - your life?”

And you may protest, crying: “Toil's more real than beauty.” And you may turn, again, from truant glare to draw the curtain.

Closed.

Shary Bartlett’s encaustic mixed media paintings and sculptures are portraits of nature and humankind. Her work has been exhibited in both Canada and across the U.S. and is held in public and private collections. She teaches art workshops in Canada and internationally and is an instructor at Capilano University. Her encaustic mixed media work, writing, and art techniques are published in the books, Encaustic Art in the 21st Century, Encaustic Revelation, 10

Tangled Forest Encaustic on hand-altered photograph 24 x 30 x 2 in

and in numerous magazines. Shary’s personally-curated encaustic wax pigments sets are available through Enkaustikos Paints and sold in fine art stores internationally.

She lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.

You can view Shary’s work at www.sharybartlett.com 11

On the Same Page Linen, cheesecloth, photo transfer on pellon, beeswax, sticks, ink 18 x 18 in A fiber and encaustic piece built as a tribute to the tenacity of birds constructing their nests despite the global threats, the pandemics, the political upheaval. Spring is spring and Life is life.

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On the Same Page Lyn Belisle Juror Award Over the course of three weeks in the isolated and troubled month of March, I watched from my window as two birds created a nest. The birds were tiny, tireless, focused, unflinching, and unceasing. They lifted scraps and shards in their beaks to weave a safe place for new life. Once, a jay tore into the nest, but they began again at first light.

I made this banner of canvas, fiber, sticks, and wax for them.

Affirmation came from my old dictionary. All on the same page — “Lift, Light, and Life” — now woven into the banner.

Lyn Belisle is an award-winning teacher, artist, designer, and writer, who has taught a range of fine arts, humanities, English, and graphic design courses throughout her career. As an undergraduate, Lyn studied at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. She taught art in public schools after graduation and was a finalist for Texas Teacher of the Year in 2001 for her work with at-risk students.

Lyn teaches mixed media workshops at Lyn Belisle Studio in San Antonio, which she founded in January of 2013. She also teaches nationally, most recently in Santa Fe, Provincetown, and Washington State.

Her favorite media are earthenware, paper, beeswax, and fiber.

You can view her work at www.lynbelisle.com 13

Attack Carolyn Berry For years, I gathered fragile flowers, gourds, thorns, pods, bones, and mummified creatures.

After slicing a gourd in half, I marveled at its beautiful interior.

This led me to encasing dried materials and creatures in encaustic wax and placing them into gourds as small vignettes.

The sculpture, Attack, acknowledges that all creatures in nature are vulnerable.

Thorns protect the egg, but the snake sneaks under the thorns while the mole hand with the thorn acts like a sword-bearing overseer.

By placing this piece into a box, it becomes a shrine to nature as a memento mori.

Attack Gourd, egg, snake, thorns, mole hand encased in encaustic wax in wood box 28 x 7.5 x 4 in

Carolyn Berry has been passionate about teaching art for over 25 years.

As a public school teacher, she has been named Outstanding Kansas Educator of the Year and has taught workshops for the Kansas City Art Institute Continuing Education, the Nelson Atkins Museum, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and various art centers.

She maintains a studio and exhibits in the Albuquerque area.

You can view her work at www.carolynberryart.com

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Sandstorm Susana F. Blanco The earth has guilt, the earth has care, Unquiet are its graves; But peaceful sleep is ever there, Beneath the dark blue waves.

Nathaniel Hawthorne — “The Ocean” (excerpt) Susana F. Blanco is a Spanish artist based in Al Khobar (Saudi Arabia).

Her paintings are for those who really love bright and vibrant colors. Baroque contrast and movement. Organic images of nature related to her own feelings and experiences.

She has a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at UCM (Spain), a bachelor’s degree in Art and Design at Anglia Ruskin University (UK), and a master’s degree in Contemporary Art at UEM (Spain).

She is currently working as a lecturer in PMU University (Saudi Arabia) and finishing her Ph.D. with the topic: “Beeswax used as a material in Arts”.

You can view her work at www.susanafblanco.com 16

Sandstorm Encaustic on board 20 x 20 in

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Cow Love 2 Encaustic, Casein paint on cradle panel 8 x 8 x 1 in

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Cow Love 2 Maureen Outlaw Church

When I count my blessings, I count you twice.

Irish Proverb

I enjoyed a 3-decade career as an art educator in the Rochester, NY area. I retired from teaching in 2017 to become a full-time painter. Since then, I have moved my studio to The Hungerford Building in downtown Rochester.

I joined the local "Working with Wax" group of encaustic artists and the Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters. I traveled to the Burren College of Art in Ireland to further explore encaustic wax painting.

I have been experimenting with mixed media: Casein plein air paintings serve as a base and are later painted with hot wax. My current focus is on farm animal portraits and plein air landscapes.

You can view Maureen’s work at maureenoutlawchurch.com

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Old Layered Mapped Anne Curran Juror Award A sculpture is born with repeated acts of burning, with tentative touch into mapped streets of Dublin where I am from.

We are rooted in fragility, with punctured marks into our places, into the images of old Dublin.

Mapping ourselves in the past, the old, the layers of life, in the streets, in our places, in our world.

Old, Layered, Mapped she hangs with traces on her paper of disappearance, of existence.

Old Layered Mapped Encaustic-coated rice paper installation 20

Old Layered Mapped Encaustic-coated rice paper installation 22

Anne is a visual artist from Co. Wicklow, Ireland, creating artworks of paintings, prints, drawings, and sculptures. All of her disciplines are created with encaustic medium.

Anne is influenced by themes of disconnection, place, and time, and incorporates archival-mapping images in sculptural and painting works.

Anne has been awarded an IEA scholarship for the International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown in 2021.

Anne has exhibited in both solo and group shows, attended residencies, and recently has been accepted again to “Sculpture in Context” 2020 in The National Botanical Gardens, Dublin, and has been pre-selected to the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts Dublin for its “190th RHA Annual Exhibition” 2020.

You can view her work at www.annecurran.ie

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Characters Andy DeWeerdt Juror Award What a piece of work is man!

How noble in reason!

How infinite in faculty!

In form and moving how express and admirable!

In Action, how like an Angel!

In apprehension, how like a god!

The beauty of the world, The paragon of animals — And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?

Man delights not me — nor Woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.

William Shakespeare — Hamlet (excerpt) 24

Fairy Godmother Encaustic, oil bar 48 x 48 in

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Man of Nature Encaustic, oil bar 48 x 48 in

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Characters is a series created from being backstage at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Much of these characters are painted in encaustic and celebrate the cast and characters of the plays. Depicted are fools, clowns, soothsayers, nobleman, jaded souls, faeries, and men of nature.

This series also is an exploration of encaustic painting.

I am a contemporary, narrative, figurative painter. My work explores the human condition through the series of work entitled — Virtues, Characters, Enlightenments, Spirituals, and Mother and Child.

Drawing is an important part of my work. Much of the work is done with large oil bars with very little brushwork. Each layer dries before the next layer is applied, allowing the color underneath to show. This gives me what I call an “antiqued” palette.

I also strive for the colors to look distressed or aged, which I became attracted to though my work in restoration, as well as with antiques and naturally-aged materials.

You can view his work at zenfolio.page.link/F4Hto 27

Moonscape Katharine Dufault Childhood Memories An orb suspended Illuminating the sky Above ancient lands Summer winds sweet breath Rustles the green grasses in the Meadow where I lie Supine on soft turf Moon-gazing and sun bathing Childhood memories British-born Katharine Dufault is a New York Times-reviewed artist, curator, and visual arts consultant. As a multimedia artist, she works in oils, encaustic, printmaking, and photography. Dufault graduated with honors from Columbia University, with a degree in painting and literature after studying visual arts, graphic design, and photography at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, England.

She regularly exhibits her work and has been in numerous shows in New York City, Boston, Ohio, Connecticut, Westchester County, the Berkshires, and Cambridge, England. Dufault’s work is included in many corporate and private collections.

Dufault lives and works in Westchester, NY. You can view her work at katharinedufault.com 28

Moonscape Encaustic on panel 8 x 8 in

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Fields of Wander Encaustic, lamp black, roofing cement on board 15 x 15 x 1.5 in

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Fields of Wander Connie Ehindero I am driving down the highway in Kentucky and see this one patch of green that the tractor had left untouched in a field.

I turn around and drive by it again.

Surrounded by beautiful rolling hills of manicured farms and horse pastures, this one tiny field murmured “earth” to me.

I held on to it and brought it back home.

A native of Rochester, NY, Ehindero has been painting and exhibiting nationally since 2007, after a career in printing and advertising.

Her painting career was established when she was awarded a New York Foundation of The Arts grant in 2008 for her “Marked Tree” series. Ehindero’s art comes from immersion in the natural world, translating its lines and forms, seen and unseen, past and present. Encaustic has given her a new vocabulary. Her works interplay between the literal landscape and our more primal connection to the natural world. She works wherever the land takes her, but mostly around upstate New York.

You can view her work at connieehindero.com 31

Belderrig Waves Encaustic 12 x 16 in

Phyllis Bryce Ely has been painting in response to the land, sky, and waters of upstate New York, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, and travel adventures since earning her BFA in painting from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1981.

She is a plein air and studio artist, working mostly in oil, encaustic wax, and oil and cold wax medium.

Phyllis is represented by the Oxford Gallery.

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Belderrig Waves Phyllis Bryce Ely

Belderrig Waves coastal edges break millennia of bog speaks I crash headlong in

She works from her Rochester, NY studio and is an active member of International Encaustic Artists and Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters.

Phyllis is a past plein air, drawing, and painting instructor at the Memorial Art Gallery.

You can view her work at www.phyllisbryceely.com 33

Shine Encaustic on cradled panel 16 x 16 in

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Shine Gretchen Forrest I hope you live louder. I hope you laugh more. I hope you sing at the top of your lungs. I hope you drive with the windows down and let the wind rustle through your hair. I hope you hug.

I hope you kiss. I hope you surround yourself with people who make you feel alive. I hope you become the type of person that brings good energy wherever you go, and the type of person people want to be around. I hope you speak what’s on your mind, that you raise your voice for injustice, that you tell others that you love them, instead of waiting until it’s too late.

I hope you live louder, shine brighter. From this moment on.

Marisa Donnelly — www.facebook.com/marisaraedonnelly

Los Angeles-based artist, Gretchen Forrest, has been honing her skills in encaustic painting for the past several years, resulting in an alternate path of increased exploration, growth, and mindfulness. The shear versatility of encaustic continues to drive her creative journey — both embracing and challenging the boundaries of the medium. Her work leverages a consistent rhythm of mark making, brush strokes, carving, and collage to create repetition, patterning, and consistent flow of space while pushing the possibilities of depth, translucency, layers, and surface. Her creative process is driven by her story, driving “a-ha” moments of connection and reflection.

You can view her work at gretchenforrest.com You can view written words by Marisa Donnelly at marisadonnelly.com 35

Native Women Warriors Alison Fullerton Warrior Daughters i am your roots our branches still touch we share the same scars women at the center stole our land, stole our stories but truth is not man-made not a fairytale not a fantasy women at the center warrior daughters you are resilient you are truth faces to the sun sing to your daughters sing our stories we are warriors women at the center Running Eagle was a highly respected member of the Piegan Tribe of the Blackfeet Nation around 1825. As a child, she persisted in going hunting and on raids with her brothers. Finally, after many battles, the tribe's chief bestowed her the name “Running Eagle�, a name only given to the greatest warriors.

Running Eagle Encaustic on wood panel 20 x 16 in 36

Lozen Encaustic on wood panel 20 x 16 in Lozen was a female warrior of the Chiricahua Apaches, who lived during the 19th century. Lozen had no interest in the traditional roles that females played in her tribe, and instead, learned the ways of the warrior. In 1870, the Apache were driven out of their lands and onto reservations. Lozen and her warriors joined forces with Geronimo.

Fullerton’s work is built around “visual anthropology narratives,” works about different cultures or groups of people.

She lived in Germany from 2016 to 2019 and was fascinated by the cultures and people she met while traveling in Europe.

“Anthropologists collect photos. I paint what I observe.”

Upon moving to the U.S., she researched indigenous Americans and discovered the untold stories of women warriors.

Euro-American culture perpetuates a fictional “princess” stereotype of native women, yet many fought lockstep with men and became highly respected leaders.

Her new works, Native Women Warriors, and their stories of resilience, are Fullerton’s American Anthropology.

You can view her work at www.alisonfullertonart.com 39

Dr. Temple Grandin Penny Gunderson A small girl frantically twists in her scratchy sweater. She screams with frustration. Images bombard her fragile defenses and she lashes out. Her parents hold whispered arguments about what to do.

Gradually, a word here and there of the cacophony of sound makes sense and she is able to begin mimicking sounds. At 4-years old language starts to reflect the constant flashing mental snap shots of her daily life.

Temple begins to share her world, especially with animals.

Dr. Temple Grandin Invisible Illness Icons Series Encaustic 24 x 18 in

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She develops a full life and advocates for autistic people and the humane management of animals.

She is Dr. Temple Grandin.

Penny Gunderson is an RBC Emerging Visual Artist and a 2020 Artist-in-Residence at the Women’s Centre of Calgary. Her work features portraiture and figure work in encaustic.

Her interests in the disabled community and encaustic portraiture were united in Invisible Illness Icons, a solo show at StudioC. The exhibit sparked discussion and media coverage on the subject of invisible illness and the famous people who live and lived with them.

Her Personal Panorama installation at the Window Gallery featured encaustic and fiber on the theme of chronic illness and coming to terms with it.

Penny’s current work explores COVID-19 through combining encaustic with quilting.

You can view her work at www.pennygunderson.com 41

Urban Nest Susan Hess They paved paradise and put up a parking lot Joni Mitchell While sitting at a drawbridge, I noticed a bird had made a nest on the stop light, and it reminded me of the song, “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell. It was a reminder that we must be ever vigilant about saving the environment.

Considered a “creative colorist” Susan Hess’ work reveals immediately her passion for color. A resident of Madeira Beach, Florida she creates interpretive impressions of people, places, and nature in encaustic wax and mixed media.

Susan graduated from Marywood College with a BA in Fine Arts. She paints and exhibits her work at Artlofts Studios in St. Petersburg, FL. Her work has been included in numerous regional and national exhibits. She is a member of International Encaustic Artists and Florida Wax. You can view her work at www.susanhessartist.com Urban Nest Wax, watercolor crayons, rusted washers, paper 24 x 18 in 43

The Red Fox Bobbi Kilty The Red Fox nurtured her young who scampered in delight.

Then struck by fate, a passing car, she found a secluded spot.

The red tints of living fur transformed to gray.

Bobbi Kilty paints in encaustic, watercolor, and combined media, a retired Interior Design Educator of 36 years (Washington State and Michigan State Universities). Born in Tampa, FL, she began drawing in childhood, living in Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, and Illinois. After receiving a BA from Northwestern University Fine Art Department, she completed her MFA at UCLA in 1969. She studied Sumie at Osaka University, Japan in 1973. Bobbi has taught courses in color theory, perspective, watercolor, and space planning. After four years as MSU’s Interior Design Program Director, she pursues artistic endeavors in her Japanese-style garden accompanied by two beloved Siamese cats.

You can view her work at bobbikilty.com 44

The Red Fox Encaustic, layered Japanese papers, digital transfer, original photos, lichen, encaustic gesso on Luan panel 16 x 12 in 45

Segas Semterces Rua Encaustic, photograph, paper, wire 41 x 29.5 x 3 cm 46

Segas Semterces Rua Beate Kratt “That is the strangeness of language: it crosses the boundaries of the body, is at once inside and outside, and it sometimes happens that we don't notice the threshold has been crossed.”

Hustvedt, Siri (2009). The Sorrows of an American, 29 Markings and lines meander like a tattoo on a skin. Rhythmic like a text in another language. Just a scribble or an urgent message with a hidden meaning for us? “Segas Semterces Rua” or “Secret Messages Two” belongs to a series of works. They are my attempt to visualize my connections and feelings to meaningful places where I have traveled. An invitation to take your time and let nature speak to you in a different way.

My art works are inspired by my love of vast landscapes and remote places I discovered on travels and during my life in Australia and Germany. Photography and found objects are my approach to get into deeper contact with the outer landscape and my inner self. Time, movement, and the process of change are the subjects of my photographs and digital collages. With beeswax and pigments I combine these images of time and the time-aged objects to a new meaning.

Beate Kratt studied photography and art in Hamburg/Germany. She is an international artist. Her works are in private and public collections in Germany, Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada, and U.S. You can view her work at www.beatekratt.com

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Sea Change Steel, aluminum, beeswax, resin, pigment 13 x 10 x 4 in 48

Sea Change Whitney Krueger A portal to a shift in perspective. Pulled from the sea floor, encrusted with barnacles, reflecting the corrosion of iron exposed to sea water. A historical artifact imbued with layers of time and the patina of place. A record of stories told and notes to be heard.

Beeswax is a divine material that holds its own stories and wisdom. I wanted to see if I could persuade the organic material to resemble another material of a different constitution, like rusted iron, evoking both luminosity and oxidation. Could it hold both qualities simultaneously? By turning the disc, another realm appears, revealing a glimpse of sedimentary remains.

A sculptor, painter, and environmental artist, Whitney Krueger works with earth energies and the consciousness of nature to create sacred art for the soul. The spirit of the divine radiates through her pieces - from intimate sculptures and botanical art to large-scale land art. Her sculptures are contemporary sacred objects created for celebration and ceremony. They are made to nourish the body, inspire the mind, and open the heart … imbued with the magic and the mystery of ancient energy and wisdom. Her work honors and celebrates the interconnectedness of all life and offers inspiration for creating with nature’s imagination.

You can view her work at www.whitneykrueger.com 49

Inspire Cold wax, oil, collage materials 24 x 24 in

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Inspire Patricia Leeds To Inspire is to create change and to educate.

I have been an artist since I was a child. I break rules, I experiment. I work in a variety of media.

I use my art to mirror what I experience in the world. I am a visual person and a collector of imagery. My work is about texture, contrast, narrative, and the element of surprise.

The simplicity of patterns, textures, and colors feel very satisfying to me. Storylines are an integral part of my work.

When I look back on my history, my sensibilities appear to be the same today as they were many years ago. I guess the takeaway here is "No matter where you go there you are.�

Patricia Leeds worked in the commercial photography world for over 25 years. She is a mixed media artist. Her media of choice are encaustic, oil paint, and photography. She sometimes combines her photographs, found objects, and handmade papers into her paintings. She also works with non-traditional photography.

You can view her work at www.patricialeedsart.com

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Strangers No. 1 - 5 Ursi Lysser A group of 5 torsos, representing people who left their homelands due to changes in their lives and circumstances.

But as it so often happens, they are not always welcome.

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Strangers No. 1 - 5 Encaustic on plaster-band bodies, paper, oil paint, rust, shellac, fabric 44 x 32 x 12 cm

I've lived in three different countries and often felt that way.

With my sculptures I hope to encourage people to be open to all human kind.

These bodies are made of plaster bands, covered with wax, paper, oil paint, and rust.

The bodies are set within a wooden frame with a metal mesh background.

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I started my Encaustic journey about 5 years ago and travelled to Dorset, UK, Lexington, KY, Germany, and the Burren College of Art in Ireland to meet and learn from like-minded artists.

I am foremost an abstract painter, and I do love to experiment with new ideas.

I hope my sculptures will encourage people to welcome the unknown and all human kind.

You can view Ursi’s work at www.ursilysser.com 55

Change of Season Cynthia Makara

Trees are Earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.

Rabindranath Tagore

Cynthia Makara works with encaustic. “I fell in love with the finish, the smell, and viscosity of the medium.�

Skies are her favourite subject to paint.

To enjoy a painting is not essential to understanding it.

Painting and art feels good, gets to our heart through the eyes, touches our inside, sounds like good music, and according to the sensitivity of each person is appreciated and enjoyed differently.

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Change of Season Encaustic, shellac, ink on panel 18 x 18 x 1.5 in

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Rhapsody II Encaustic on panel 12 x 12 x 1/2 in

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Rhapsody II Cynthia Makara In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.

Aristotle

With a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and Packaging Design - taking private art classes in drawing, painting, plastic expression, and human figure with Nicolas Menza in Argentina.

I’m a figurative artist, my paintings are peaceful and relaxing, they tell the glory of the sky and its magnificence. I love texture and exploring the volume of the material.

Most of the inspiration in her latest artworks are found in the western skies of Alberta and the beauty of nature.

You can view her work at www.cynthiamakara.com 59

Conor Pass Encaustic on wooden cradle 12 x 12 in

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Conor Pass Anne McCune Atop Conor Pass soul soaking in raw beauty buffeted by wind.

My art journey started with watercolors, and while I reveled in the translucent, almost ethereal nature of that medium, I began searching for ways to add texture and body. This led me to collage and acrylics, always enjoying the progression through the media.

Upon discovering encaustic, I felt like I had come home. The evocative tactile properties were matched by the transparency of the layers and the luminosity of certain pigments. This exciting medium offers me a natural abstraction through which I can build atmosphere and examine my feelings.

I call the vibrant art community of Rochester, NY home, while exhibiting and selling nationally and internationally.

You can view her work at Behance.net/annemccune

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Shadowman Jamie McPhail Shadowman starts Then stops to reflect On choices left unmade As industry moves down assembly lines Someone will always get paid The view from the top A vista unknown To the hardworking men of rough hand Too tired to see how the misery ends Too numb to take a stand On peace and progress The various heads All have something to say Those with heart creative and true Forge hope for another way North Carolina-based artist, Jamie McPhail has been working almost exclusively in encaustic since she fell in love with the versatility and expressiveness of the medium in 2009, while studying at Penland School of Craft. Allegorical, primitive, personal, and political, Jamie’s work is inspired by the simple lines and forms of the natural world and the nuanced complexity and chaos of the human condition. Drawing on her 4o-year career as a bartender, Jamie explores how relationships, connections, and environment interplay to form a narrative and inform our perspective. Jamie has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows throughout the east coast.

You can view her work at jamiemcphail.com 62

Shadowman Encaustic, vintage magazine, paper 18 x 18 in

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Our Lady of the Recycling Center Otty Merrill Juror Award ARISE Arise from the ashes.

Repurpose your purpose.

By your bootstraps ‌a new beginning.

Otty Merrill maintains studios in Portland and Tenants Harbor, a small picturesque fishing village in mid-coast Maine. In Portland she enjoys membership in a large cooperative of 70 artists, making for a wide and varied working context.

Otty often uses encaustic medium in painting and on sculpture.

She is a member of International Encaustic Artists and the Encaustic Art Institute along with New England Wax, a select group of 36 professional encaustic artists, who work and exhibit throughout the New England states. She proudly serves on The Saint George Solid Waste and Recycling Committee (an influence on her piece in this show!).

She has exhibited widely in the Portland and mid-coast Maine area and more recently in NYC and California.

You can view her work at ottymerrillart.com Our Lady of the Recycling Center, 2020 Encaustic on FiberClay with Found Objects, including salvaged sardine cans vintage 1971 21 x 12 x 9 in 65

In the Fold of Everything Kylie T Millar It started out ok... to be honest it’s up and down.

By taking pieces of random things, connecting them together, it might help me to make some sense of the craziness.

Or maybe not.

But that’s ok too.

Kylie T Millar is an encaustic artist based in Pemberton, B.C. At the end of her university degree, she discovered the adaptable qualities of encaustic painting and 6 years later is still finding new ways to work with it. Her creations are inspired by the natural landscapes she's explored: first and foremost the waters, flora, mountains, and forests of her home.

You can view her work at www.kylietmillar.com 66

In the Fold of Everything Encaustic wax, paper, fabric on wood panel 8 x 8 x 1 in

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In Search of Lost Time Encaustic on panel 18 x 18 in

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In Search of Lost Time Deborah Peeples We do not succeed in changing things according to our desire, but gradually our desire changes. The situation that we hoped to change because it was intolerable becomes unimportant. We have not managed to surmount the obstacle, as we were absolutely determined to do, but life has taken us around it, led us past it, and then if we turn around to gaze at the remote past, we can barely catch sight of it, so imperceptible has it become.

Marcel Proust

Deborah Peeples is an abstract artist who paints with encaustic.

The tactile processes of inlaying color, layering, and scraping back allow her to choose how much to expose or obscure. She sees this as both method and metaphor for uncovering and connecting with the inner self. Peeples typically works in series, imposing challenges, and limitations, striving to shorten the emotional distance between the artwork and viewer.

Peeples holds a BFA from Washington University School of Fine Arts and studied at the Lake Placid School of Art. She lives and works in Cambridge, MA, and exhibits her work nationally.

You can view her work at www.debpeeples.com 69

The Child is Father of the Man Tami Phelps

The Child is Father of the Man Cold wax, oil, photo transfers on cradle board 16 x 20 in

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William Wordsworth’s line, “The Child is father of the Man” from “My Heart Leaps Up,” joins a blend of my cold wax background with photo transfers. My nephew pours water from a coconut shell (on a beach in Hawaii) onto his uncle’s head silhouetted against an open bible (from the oldest church in New Zealand where Charles Darwin visited). The boy stands on a flower along the Coastal Trail where I often stroll in Anchorage, AK, my home.

I share stories through cold wax paintings, sometimes including mixed media, fiber, assemblage, and photography. I lived my childhood years in Nebraska and Colorado, then adventured with my family to Anchorage in 1970, where I make art. My twenty-year career as a Montessori teacher influences my art, as does humor, relationships, nature, emotions, music, and ideas. I make beauty out of the unexpected.

Antique stores inspire me. Layers of wax in my work provide a history, as do the materials and stories I incorporate.

My work is in permanent collections — Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center; Museum of Encaustic Art, Santa Fe, NM. You can view her work at www.tamiphelps.com

Photo by Kerry Dean Feldman

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Dream Catcher Totem Amanda Pierce She had a story, a history.

Buried deep and on this canvas I would show it.

Through layers and layers of wax, I would express her life as she worked through me.

It was a dance of one story at a time.

There was the laughter.

There were tears and inexplicable sadness.

Some days, I worked feverishly to capture that history.

Then suddenly, there was silence.

It was as if she vanished into thin air.

I stood before a half-finished canvas.

My story was missing chapters.

Let it rest, I was told.

She will return and bring it to completion.

It happened.

One morning her voice called me back to play.

The dance began again.

More wax, more carving out and building up the dreams.

Daps of color to accentuate the emotions, deep, deep lines to illustrate the pain, the life experiences.

The canvas is complete.

The story is told.

History recovered.

Dream Catcher Totem Encaustic, cold wax medium, 14k gold leaf, pigments, broken mirror 40 x 30 x 1.5 in 73

Details, Dream Catcher Totem Encaustic, cold wax medium, 14k gold leaf, pigments, broken mirror 40 x 30 x 1.5 in

This is a Dream Catcher, a “Sacred Hoop.� The Ojibwe word for dream catcher asabikeshiinh actually means "spider," referring to the web.

They are used to protect sleeping people.

Some indigenous tribes believe that the night air is filled with dreams, both good and bad.

When hung above the bed in a place where the morning sunlight can hit it, good dreams pass through and gently go down the feathers to comfort the sleeper below.

Bad dreams are caught up and destroyed, burned up in the light.

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I am a Canadian Cree Métis artist. I create encaustic and cold wax abstract art. My work is very eclectic and stems from an intuitive and subconscious process. Often when I paint, I am visiting nature or expressing feelings or emotions from the past or present. My art doesn’t reflect a specific scene, rather it's a distillation of memories from paths traveled. Some of these journeys are from the Canadian prairies and Europe, where I grew up. As a result, the art reflects both the old and the new worlds.

You can view her work at www.amandapierceart.com 75

Travel Restrictions Melissa Porter

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do.

Than by the ones you did do.

So throw off your bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover!

H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (compiler) — P.S. I Love You

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Travel Restrictions Encaustic, photography on wood 8 x 8 in

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An Unauthorized Flirtation Encaustic, collage on wood 12 x 12 in

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An Unauthorized Flirtation Melissa Porter Open Letter to all the colorful characters participating in online dating.

Thank you for entertaining me.

Melissa Porter earned her BFA degree from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI, in Fine Art Photography. Her early career had her working as a photo stylist, production coordinator, and location scout throughout the Western United States. While she raised her adopted daughter, Melissa owned and operated a successful portrait studio in Beverly Hills, MI. In 2012 she closed her studio in order to pursue her dream of working full time as a visual artist.

Melissa’s work is reflective of her life experiences and showcases her affinity for symbolism. Found treasures such as vintage clock cases, cigar boxes, and photographs add their own character to the intimate story she narrates. Her work is greatly influenced by artists such as Joseph Cornell, Duane Michals, and the Starn Twins, as well as her travel experiences and exposure to different cultures and religions. Through her creative process, Melissa explores the concepts of permanence, boundaries, value, and connection.

You can view her work at www.MelissaPorterArtist.com 79

Healing Rock Encaustic, artist-made-dry-natural pigments, ash, horsehair, oil paint on cradled board 16 x 16 in

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Healing Rock Jennifer Pretzeus A bleached rock told me I could ask him any question.

Huge and white, scarred sides—he was his own throne.

I cried and he held me in hands of shade and he said I used to know how you feel.

Your human eyes are hollow, you have my sympathy.

To understand my misery, you must know the love a rock can hold, the passion of the stone is all-consuming.

To one who never sleeps, never dies, yet never breathes, only possessing strength and weight.

Some rocks are bitter, I am only sad.

Words by Michael S.

Jennifer Pretzeus is an Albuquerque-based visual artist. She studied graphic design and advertising at Kent State University in Ohio, and then continued her education at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and Chicago’s Evanston Art Center. The direction of her art shifted after moving to New Mexico in 2006, as she was deeply affected by the land and the environment. Pretzeus was featured in the Spring 2017 issue of Encaustic Arts Magazine. She is a board member of the Encaustic Art Institute, and her work is exhibited at the Museum of Encaustic Art in Santa Fe. You can view her work at www.jenniferpretzeus.com 81

Woods at Dawn Regina B. Quinn Early morning light Gently brushes the dawn woods — Tender lover’s stroke.

Struck by the luminosity and subtlety of Doug and Mike Starn’s encaustics in 2014, Regina sensed that encaustic was her medium — one that could give voice to her aesthetic, her sensibility, and her quiet personality.

She hasn’t looked back.

Regina has worked almost exclusively with encaustics and oils with beeswax, and recently began using those media over watercolor.

Her art career encompasses theatrical set design and painting, murals, photography, ceramics, and printmaking. She holds a BFA from Trinity College and a master’s in educational leadership from the University of Vermont. Regina exhibits her work widely in galleries, art centers, and museums across the country.

You can view her work at reginabquinn.net 82

Woods at Dawn Encaustic, oils, beeswax over watercolor on cradled panel 10 x 10 in

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The Seven Gates Rhonda Raulston I went there of my own free will I went there in my finest gown with my rarest jewels and my Queen of Heaven crown In the Underworld at each of the seven gates I was stripped seven times of all that I thought I was till I stood bare in who I really am Amy Sophia Marashinsky — The Goddess Oracle (excerpt) Rhonda Raulston is an encaustic and oil painter whose work reflects her ongoing curiosity and experimentation. She embarked on an intensive study of encaustic painting 16 years ago, creating conceptual, non-representational work that integrates her fascination with science by incorporating elements of scientific notation, treatises, and concepts. She uses organic objects, written word, and symbols to create visual representations of her philosophies and interests. She is currently working on a series of portraits painted in encaustic. She teaches encaustic painting workshops (all levels) and belongs to International Encaustic Artists and Pasadena Society of Artists.

You can view her work at www.RhondaRaulston.com 84

The Seven Gates Encaustic, oil stick, gold leaf on panel 11 x 14 in

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Gravity Deanne Row He feels the pull of gravity lessen with each step And his heart lightens Knowing that each day brings him closer to being reunited with Her. Deanne grew up in a family of artists and musicians, which influenced her interest in the arts from an early age. Combining the clarity of design with the improvisations of jazz and blues around her, her love of representational portraits and figures has become more expressive as she explores new media and techniques.

While in art college, she worked as a traditional candle carver; little did she know that wax would come back into her artistic life much later. Most of her paintings and sculpture now incorporate beeswax in the form of encaustic or cold wax media.

You can view her work at GalleryRow.com Gravity Scrap encaustic paint, wire 7 x 5 x 4 in 87

Shining Through Melissa Rubin There is a blueness in the night And the rain delights in it.

You ask, What is the purpose of time And what is it like?

Look at the blue of the night And the blue of the rain in the night, The way the blue rain clings To your window’s glass and falls and falls While far beyond the car lights flash and blur.

Isn’t time the same as that glass?

Doesn’t it hold us, opal-blue, secure, Flat within the this-then-that While round us whirl The fountains of the universe?

Polly Walshe — “Shining Through” Melissa Rubin, a NYC-based artist, was a recent participant with the Master Abstraction Residency at MASS MoCA. Her work has earned her a Pollock-Krasner Foundation and a New York Foundation for the Arts grants, as well as a Fulbright Fellowship to Japan. Rubin’s work has been featured in ARTnews Magazine ©, Encaustic Arts Magazine, on CBS This Morning, and has been exhibited in solo and numerous group exhibitions.

You can view Melissa’s work at melissarubinart.com You can view Polly’s work at pollywalshe.com Shining Through Cold wax, powdered graphite, pastel on paper 30 x 22 in 89

The Storm Heidi Rufeh As we are increasingly encountering the effects of global warming I envisioned a storm bearing down on a fragile craft that is being swallowed up by the power of the waves.

Heidi Rufeh was born in the divided city of Berlin, Germany.

She left Germany in the 1960’s and studied art at the deCordova Museum School, Massachusetts College of Art and the Art Institute of Boston.

In 1994 she relocated to San Diego where she continues her career in art.

Her work explores the human condition where anxiety and mystery often carry a metaphor of suggestive drama. She has exhibited in numerous galleries nationally and internationally.

You can view her work at www.heidirufeh.com 90

The Storm Encaustic, oils on wood panel 12 x 12 in

The Storm is also featured on the front cover.

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Sorority #1 Encaustic monoprints, collage 12 x 12 in

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Sorority #1 Jean K Stephens Now that many are sequestered in our homes, I am asking the question: What does home mean?

Growing up, my home was safe, where I felt cared for. My home now includes my art studio and a peaceful living space. The home inside of me is where I’ve discovered a deep well of source, love, light, and creativity.

The women in the windows are myself, my ancestors, and from sketches, others are from portraits and fashion catalogs. As I tap into my feminine energy, these women represent a sisterhood I am finding my way into.

A Rochester, NY native, Jean K Stephens received a BFA and MA in Art Education from Rochester Institute of Technology. Jean’s artwork is inspired by nature’s sensuous, curvilinear forms, and richly textured surfaces. Using oil and encaustic paint, graphite drawing, printmaking, and collage, her artwork conveys a narrative which complements her journey of personal and spiritual growth.

Jean’s pieces have been selected for national-juried exhibitions and are included in private and corporate collections. She has taught classes and workshops in drawing and oil painting and maintains a studio in her home.

You can view her work at www.instagram.com/jeankstephens 93

Every Woman Has a Story Nancy Torbitt-Stewart “It was an adventurous childhood growing up on Catalina Island. I had big dreams, travel the world, a job, a family. I got my first job at 13, the ticket taker at the new Casino! I had a job in a bank, sailed to Hawaii, married a man I loved. We had three children. My husband didn’t want me to work, travel was family vacation. It was a fortunate life, but not the one I was suited for.” Written over my mother’s story are the words “Every Woman Has A Story” in French, Chinese, Arabic, Somalian, Thai, Czech, Hindi, Greek, Estonian, Ukrainian, and Korean.

My lightbulb lit up after painting furiously in the garage following an argument with my mother when I was 17.

All my teen angst was right there in wild waves of fire. I still paint with sojourns into printmaking, ceramics, and fiber art.

For the past 25 years, I have been teaching others to create by pulling from their feelings. I developed an art program for oncology patients at our Childrens Hospital and have facilitated Art & Creativity for Healing workshops for Veterans and wounded warriors, survivors of sexual assault and trafficked women, and work with hospice patients.

You can view her work at www.nancytorbittstewart.art Every Woman Has a Story Wax, mixed media on plaster 12 x 9 in 94

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Nesting Place Panto Trivkovic The painting shows the pure life energy pulsating and waiting to erupt. The power of the associated cohesion is visible and almost tangible. No time pressure is created, but patience is conveyed.

The beauty of tranquility is captured in the moment.

A fascinating place of waiting.

The small creatures that can be seen in the lower right and upper left corner act as small friendly guards that release the sign to swarm out at the appropriate time.

Panto Trivkovic was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, grew up in Hamburg, Germany, and has been living and working in Vienna, Austria for 30 years. Panto has been painting with hot wax for over 15 years. He also applies this technique to photographs. In this way he changes the perspective of the captured moment and creates a new work of art. Other techniques Panto works with are watercolor and ink.

As a former civil engineer for building construction he is interested in structures and systems of order. At the same time, he creates worlds in his pictures in which everything is possible and there are no rules.

You can view his work at www.pantoart.at Nesting Place Wax on hardboard 60 x 40 cm Nesting Place is also featured on the back cover.

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Sunset at the Old Pier Encaustic, oil pastel, paper on cradled wood panel 12 x 9 in 98

Sunset at the Old Pier Lara Williams I come to sit by you as the sun fades Your dark skeleton a stark contrast against the colorful prisms of light that dance in the water between your shadows I watch in wonder until darkness envelops my sight I leave as my other senses take flight to the sound of the waves swelling at your feet My current passion, encaustic mixed media, reflects my fascination with nature, and its ability to evoke intense emotions. I am in awe.

Growing up on Long Island, NY, my father, an avid lover of nature, and my mother, a beach worshiper, passed these appreciations along to me through frequent excursions.

After earning a BFA degree at SUNYPlattsburgh, NY I moved to Boston, settling into the local art scene, exhibiting, and earning awards in various shows. Now in Hull, MA, home to beautiful Nantasket beach, my paintings are regularly displayed at Gallery Nantasket and online.

You can view her work at LaraWilliamsFineArt.com 99

Emerging Shelley Wuitchik Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and test of our civilization Mahatma Ghandi For me, painting with encaustic creates a state of totipotentia: a Latin term meaning the ability for all things. A totipotent cell has the potential to develop and differentiate into any cell in the body, be it skin, bone, or even heart tissue.

Encaustic painting is also filled with such potential. Since the medium is incredibly malleable and fluid, I am able to mix it with vibrant pigments and embed sculptural elements. I seek to illustrate the flow of water, the dense weight of the earth, and the flashy and volatile qualities of fire.

My work is a reflection of my life, the rich texture of my family, history, and experiences are blended together just as composition colors melt into swirls of water and bursts of fire.

The ebb and flow of the seasons is divided into different series which I explore both the macroscopic and microscopic in tandem. With sweeping gestures of my blowtorch, I am not only burning in the medium, adhering layer to layer; I am also burning in memory, time, and space.

I hope the luminosity and movement of my work offers the viewer the same spontaneity and transformation I experience as I paint.

Totipotentia all things are possible.

You can view her work at www.shelleywuitchik.com 100

Emerging Encaustic on birch board 40 x 40 in

Emerging was created in a period of social isolation. Each orb in the painting manifested a unique and exuberant personality as it emerged from the heat of my torch. Each orb filled my spirit with hope and the promise of a global community during a bleak time.

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Solzhenitsyn Street, Moscow Yulia Mamontova Zabrodina Spring is coming in my city

Solzhenitsyn Street, Moscow Encaustic on cardboard 12 x 16 in 102

Spring Is Coming Spring is coming, spring is coming, Birdies build your nest; Weave together straw and feather, Doing each your best.

Spring is coming, spring is coming, Flowers are coming, too; Pansies, lilies, daffodils Now are coming through.

Spring is coming, spring is coming, All around is fair; Shimmer, quiver on the river, Joy is everywhere.

Edith Segal — “Spring is Coming”

Yulia Mamontova (Zabrodina) is a contemporary Russian artist.

In her art work, Yulia Mamontova combines the best traditions of the classical Russian school of painting, western techniques, and conceptual presentation. She works in two directions: classical oil painting and decorativeapplied art with encaustic. She is a member of International Encaustic Artists (IEA) and the Eurasian Art Union (EAU).

You can view her work at yuliamamontova.com/en/ 103

vignette 1) a brief evocative description, account, or episode 2) a small illustration or portrait photograph which fades into its background without a definite border 3) a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or character and gives a trenchant impression about that character, an idea, setting, and/or object

A digital publication of International-Encaustic-Artists.org 104

Summer, Issue I:2020