Monday, December 10, 2012

sorry I haven't been keeping up with posts!  check out my current show at Doncker's in Marquette MI, throught the month of December:  Musings, muses with Judy Sarosik: 
Melissa Hronkin

 

Artist Statement

 

Musings/Muses 2012 with Judy Sarosik

 

These small collages with beeswax represent moments, and my fascination with historic photographs.  These musings or muses are souvenirs of places that we have not yet been, and can never visit.  They are immortalized in photographs and then encased in beeswax. 

 

Current Explorations in Encaustics and Beeswax Collage:  Sweetness and Light 

 

“Melissa” means honeybee in Greek.  This realization combined with a desire to get back into the studio led me to experimentation with Encaustics, an ancient medium using pigmented beeswax.  I approached this medium experimentally, and used it as a medium to bind together my photography, drawing, sculptures, and ideas.  There is no heartbreak that a little beeswax can’t patch back together.  I also became a beekeeper. Working with the bees and harvesting honey and wax has brought me to an intimate place with the medium and the fascinating creatures that produce it.

 

The Story

I am an Artist and Art Educator.  My journey began as an observer, photographer, maker of things, and a daughter of teachers.  I am also a student, continually evaluating and discovering theoretical and practical aspects of the Visual Arts.

 My camera allowed me to negotiate a space for myself during my teens and early twenties.  The University of Alaska Anchorage allowed me to experiment with drawing, mixed media, and autobiographical photography.  Minneapolis College of Art and Design was where my photography became sculpture and installation, but referenced the spiritual and machine-like aspects of image making.  Artist as Alchemist became my fascination.

 

What followed was my retreat back to rural Michigan.  Here, I pursued Art Education, and found it to be as fascinating as creating art myself; how can I inspire others to find their unique vision—while still maintaining my artistic vision?