A teacher of mine recently mentioned to me how we are all mark makers of a sort, each of us drawn to different styles of imprinting on to substrates. Some of us are lovers of lines and gashes on our surfaces, others of us are more orbicular. I fall into the orbicular camp. I have always, always, always loved circles. This love comes from somewhere deep and primal, somewhere inexplicable yet profoundly connected. There is something relatable about spheres, dare I say universal. When we tilt our heads skyward our eyes (iris and pupils, orbs on their own) are met with these circular symbols of cosmic unity, the sun, moon, distant planets and stars. The circle is infinite, without end or beginning, a constant filled with potential in each turn around the sun.
And somehow, in my sometimes near-sited experience of life, I had no idea of this concept that we are each of us drawn to different marks, linear or spherical, that we might be divided into groups who see and feel the world through these lenses. I have to admit that I am a bit curious about what marks others are drawn to and how those marks are possible expressions of our inner selves, maps that we might share with the world, where we might find commonality.
When I look back at so many pieces I have made over the years the circle is repeated time and again, woven into the background, highlighted in the foreground, layered one on top of another. Despite all this repetition, when I am at a loss of where to go, a cross-roads, or at the inception of a new medium the circle is where I begin.
Over the past year I have dabbled in the world of encaustics, dripping and spreading and molding hot wax, but much of this experimentation has been colorless. And I thought my love of beeswax in its pure form, unpigmented, would be enough, that I would find my color elsewhere. But, slowly a curiosity of how I might weave color into my dabblings bloomed. And so this project came to be, an exploration of circles layered one on top of the next, each piece a study in a different color. The base layer, buried beneath the waxen surface, is fueled by color coded circles cut from my not very small collection of paper amassed over the years, a stash of letters, calendars, holiday cards, chocolate wrappers, gifting wrapping, advertising postcards, the paper the lined my grandmother's sock drawer, ticket stubs and oh so much more, a history in color.
Over the past year I have dabbled in the world of encaustics, dripping and spreading and molding hot wax, but much of this experimentation has been colorless. And I thought my love of beeswax in its pure form, unpigmented, would be enough, that I would find my color elsewhere. But, slowly a curiosity of how I might weave color into my dabblings bloomed. And so this project came to be, an exploration of circles layered one on top of the next, each piece a study in a different color. The base layer, buried beneath the waxen surface, is fueled by color coded circles cut from my not very small collection of paper amassed over the years, a stash of letters, calendars, holiday cards, chocolate wrappers, gifting wrapping, advertising postcards, the paper the lined my grandmother's sock drawer, ticket stubs and oh so much more, a history in color.
I am very excited to share these pieces in a more public space this Friday evening at the Zhou B Art Center during their monthly Third Fridays event. They will be on display in Studio 303 from 7-10p.m. I will be there to commune with you and yours, and in all likelihood if you want to try your hand at playing with hot wax, you just might get the chance to do so.