Where did April go?

I can't believe it  is almost May and I haven't posted in a month.  I'm also not reading about art and thus my absence in blogland.  I seldom go to the studio these days because I seem to have lost all interest in creating.  Am I worried about this? Not really.  I've had other times when I've felt this way and my inspiration has returned.

 I'm hoping my attendance at the International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown NJ at the end of May will ignite me again.  I thoroughly enjoyed the conference last year and came away with all types of things I wanted to experiment with.  This year I'm excited about a two day post conference  workshop with Catherine Nash that explores using paper with encaustic. It's a perfect fit for me because I already use lots of paper in my mixed media works.

I like Catherine's artist statement because her beliefs are similar to my own.

Creating images and objects of beauty and visual poetry that express reverence offers me grounding.  Enough time has passed by in my creative life to notice that I spiral through ideas and concerns.  I discover tiny roots of an idea were hidden in previous works, but have emerged in a different way.  Completely understanding a narrative while creating is not important. I’ve learned to not question the internal juxtaposition of imagery, to listen and let the work lead me.  A conversation with paper, wax, branches, brush, pen, saw and twine.

 Boat of Myself

Mixed media encaustic painting, 150 year old Japanese paper bought in a Kyoto flea market. Poem by Jelaluddin Rumi. 12” X 15”

Her work is diverse and often forays into three dimensional pieces.  Take a look.  I'm sure you'll be hearing more about her and the workshop.