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.

bird diptych

just a collage of things that have been given to me and other things living in my studio--each is a 12x12 inch cradled canvas board

winter diptych

each piece is on a 12x12 inch cradled board...this is about as minimal as my art gets...feedback?

a letter to the queen from her colony

this is a re-do of an old piece....on 18x18 inch cradle board...