The Earth Remembered

The Earth Remembered
encaustic, dyed silk, copper, tea stained paper, oil paint, transfer on wood
19 1/2 x 14 inches

Sleeping in the Forest

I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.

― Mary Oliver

One of the best gifts that I receive from teaching are the people that I meet and the friendships that are made. The most amazing thing to me is when people from my workshops give me gifts that they have made and tell me to use it in my artwork. In September a box arrived from Kathie Vezzani filled with beautiful papers and bits of colorful paper from Oaxaca. I met Kathie last year on Whidbey Island when I taught at the Pacific Northwest Art School.(Check out her blog to learn more about an amazing culinary and art experience that she is a part of that takes place in Oaxaca, Mexico this year) In the box she also included some gifts from Irena Ellis, an artist I met in 2012 when I taught at EncaustiCamp. In this piece I incorporated dyed silk that Irena made. It's very subtle and probably better viewed when the painting is right in front of you. I loved the way the silk and wax interacted together. I am now interested in learning more about dying silk myself.


the box o'goodies

And then, yes, am still working with the copper. Love the patina on it. It feels right and good to be working with all these different natural materials and using my image transfers. In my new surroundings I am surrounded by trees and rolling hills and nature has always been such an inspiration to me. After experiencing the overwhelming power that nature can enforce on us mere humans, I am even more drawn into delving into her secrets.


on my table during the creation of this painting