new studio...

(John noticed that this was the closest grave to the church! this man lived a long life for the time~)





wow...what a crazy week it has been. here are some pics of my temporary art studio in the sacristy of the church...our church. until we can get the basement floor done and the space heated I will use the sacristy for working on some larger pieces. I can use the space heater to warm the area...MPR comes in on the old radio...and all is well....the neighbors are loving the company!! This is where I plan to spend the days of my spring break!!

our new honeyhouse/art studio

610 Plank Rd. in Greenland, MI, about 4 mi from our home. It needs a little TLC, but John has the time~we will be glad to have her heated and occupied again..vacant for at least 15 years...SO, now the bees and the souls can meet again....the church and honeybees have a long history together...for the wax, and many accounts of bees representing the soul...

upcoming workshops!!

I will be conducting 2 Sculptural Encaustic workshops at the CCCAC in Hancock MI. First one is Monday, March 8th, and the next will be Saturday, April 10th.

Also, John and I will be attending ANR week at MSU. There I will do a slidetalk/demo on encaustics and beeswax collage!

finding home

this series came out of our search for more space for our honey business, art studio, and room to grow. after looking at several old buildings in the area, I began to feel that buildings have souls....
So, as much as she straightened her proud self up, threw rainbows across the floor for us, showed us all of her unique quirks, and neglected nuances, the gravity of the situation scared us away. Even her new windows and furnaces....and lots of room to tranform and explore...it would be too much for us to take on. And so we kept looking....

each of these pieces is on 8x8"lumber...encaustics and beeswax collage.

series: December through July

Each of these pieces is on an 8x8" piece of lumber. the face drawings are contour/blind contour line drawings I made from self portraits. The line drawings were carved into the wax surface of each piece, and oil paint was used to make the lines visible. Various collage/transfer, and painting techniques were used to unify the series and to complete each composition. Dec. Jan. and Feb. were done last winter, and I thought recently about adding to the series. Some of these look more muddy than I had first imagined..and sinister. Feedback is welcome. As usual, they probably work better together than individually. I was thinking about using them for my April showing at Babycakes in Marquette...she can hang 8 pieces there. thoughts? thanks!

blue bee

frozen charlie

so glad there are many re-do's in encaustics! 18x18" cradled canvas board...this is a recycled piece including photo collage, xerox transfer, and embedded botanicals.

The story about Frozen Charlotte was told in a poem or song. A frozen Charlotte doll was found in one of the carpenter’s toolboxes, wrapped in a woolen sock. The doll had no clothes on, except for a bonnet and mittens, because the children would make the clothes for the doll. This is the story of Frozen Charlotte:
It was New Years Eve and it was very cold outside. Charlotte was waiting in her new dress for her boyfriend, Charles, to take her to the village inn for a New Year’s Eve party. Finally, Charles’ sleigh came. Her mother asked her to put a blanket around her so she wouldn’t be too cold. But Charlotte did not want to crinkle her dress, so she did not take the blanket. The village inn was 15 miles away. They had gone five miles when Charlotte said she was cold. Charles made the horses run faster. Five more miles they rode when Charlotte said she was getting warmer. Finally, the village inn was in sight. Charles jumped out and called her many times. Charlotte did not move or say a word because she was frozen. Then he came over to her and felt her hands. They were very cold. He now knew that Charlotte had frozen to death. He rode Charlotte back to her cottage. Her parents were very sad. Charles was very upset, too. He died of a broken heart.