Sea Glass in Iowa

I just sent off several giclees and photo cards to a gallery in Iowa City, Iowa!

Glassando Art Gallery is involved with a gallery walk for the month of June and will be showcasing my friend Aileen Cabral's Art of Sea Glass jewelry collection along with my sea glass giclees and cards. Glassando carries art glass jewelry.

So, if you are in Iowa, stop by Glassando Art Gallery.

Encaustic Work

Encaustics is an ancient art form. Painting with beeswax and pigment. These are the pieces I created in class on Sunday. The top one has sea glass embedded in it. It is called "Hunting for Sea Glass." The second one incorporated one of my paintings that I copied onto paper and a sketch I did. I call it "Naked. Open."

As I painted the wax on the board I felt so free, so unaware of time as I created each layer of wax. Just an unexpected drip from the brush could lead me in a whole new direction. Layer upon layer built up. When I scraped it off I didn't know what I would reveal, what turn it would take. I couldn't make a mistake. Like life each layer you built up makes you who you are. When you reveal your inner self you become the next layer, you take the next turn or twist of life. There are no mistakes, just new opportunities to reveal yourself.

Each encaustic piece has a life of its own and it reveals layer by layer who you are and defines what you are doing at that moment you paint or drip or mold the wax onto the board. Next you scrap off beneath the layers and discover what you made in the past and it too becomes something new, part of the present. The possibilities are limitless. My brain explodes with ideas. Where to start? Just one layer at a time.

Encaustic Class

I'm taking a class on encaustic painting on Sunday with a local Bay Area artist, Eileen Goldenberg. Check out her website http://www.eileenpgoldenberg.com/

Can't wait to try out this medium. There are so many possibilities. My mind is spinning. I can't wait to learn about it. Eileen says painting with encaustics is using beeswax, dammar resin and pigment. "Encaustic" means to burn in. She suggested getting Joanne Mattera's book, "The Art of Encaustic Painting." It arrived today and I can't wait to look through it tonight.

I think this will be a great way to combine my photos and collages in this medium.

I'll post what I create in class on Sunday!

Happy Mother's Day!

My sister is having a baby! I get to be an Aunt again. For Mother's Day I gave her my favorite essay on Motherhood that I found in Reader's Digest years ago. I paired it with a photo of my daughter and I.