Hi, I’m Mary. 

My art journey began with oils and canvas, always painting subjects and scenes that stirred my inner child – a horse’s flaring nostril, a tangle of ostriches, out-sized crying baby heads.

Clearing my attic, I found ‘my calling’ in three storage bins of my kid’s art -- preschool through elementary.  I started with the scrolls that their two-year-old selves made standing at miniature easels and tubs of tempera paint. I unrolled the crinkly newsprint paper, thinning with age and crackling with broad strokes of color, and glued them to wooden boards.  Over hot plates, I warmed bees wax and tree resin, an ancient preservative, and used fire to bond board, art and wax. The result is playful, ethereal, meaningful.  This art form is called encaustic.   

My storage bins yielded endless masterpieces, begging to be proudly hung on the most prominent walls of my home. Now I am out of space and joyfully creating Encaustics for other families.

Depending on the type of child's art I am working with, I may add subtle touches of oil pastels, powders and India Inks, or press shapes into the warm waxy image.  I work in small and large sizes and have created simple single piece works to more complicated collaging of multiple drawings, notes and doodles. 

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I look forward to getting to know a bit about your Artist in Residence.

 

 

Home is where the art is!