INK
& BEESWAX PAINTINGS have a life of their own. Working with no brushes,
my hand-dipped beeswax candles and resources around me
scoot & scatter, drip
& dribble, scrape & shake the inks onto
hard Bristol board.
Candles
were in the paint box when traveling and as I put down brushes to
use candles, sticks, porcupine quills, rocks, grass, moss, etc.~
those tools became yet another connection
between the finished art and my life: and a new challenge every painting!
By the time
these paintings are framed they are waxed, painted, scraped free of excess beeswax
and ironed onto a mat board.
BLOCK
PRINTS,
in contrast to the paintings, are planned carefully in
advance and controlled through every step.
Inspired by rural life with gardening and all manner of 2 and 4-legged
creatures, they are either worked with the back of a wooden spoon,
or cranked in an old cast iron press which works equally well for flowers
and goat cheese. An array of colored inks are used to print from
blocks cut of wood or linoleum, or found objects. Limited editions are purposely
kept small and I often use the reduction method of cutting so that
when finished, the block cannot be used ever again to print the edition.
Truly limited!
My
own bees help provide honeycomb for PURE BEESWAX CANDLES. They are
hand-dipped, or poured into my great grandfathers 10" taper mold
which still sometimes secretes black tallow from its seams.
My great grandparents had
over 100
beehives and grandmother paid her
way through school by riding a train into town to take orders for beeswax products and honey, then returning
next day to fill the orders.
Pure
beeswax burns clean, bright, and long, smelling of honey which was stored in the comb.
Dipped pairs
wrapped with twine and dried flowers, herbs, hot peppers, or chunks of
handmade soap are sold as Candle Wraps.
Making
SOAP
is a truly creative endeavor and also a connection to my past.
I found a recipe that worked every time and formulated it for my
goat's milk or collected rainwater. These soaps contain natural ingredients like aloe,
violets, oatmeal, or sand from my gardens, orchard, fields, kitchen,
etc. They are simple and healthy for mind and body!
CALLIGRAPHIC
CLAY developed from years of making "corn
cups." Clay rolled with ear corn has distinctive texture
and is yet another connection to my farm heritage. Once
I gathered blue limestone from the creek and fired it with
interesting results!
Discovering calligraphy directly in the clay was exciting and
my
newest idea is to do clay/castings of
the printing blocks.
Paintings,
prints, soaps, beeswax candles,
calligraphic
clay...
my life has evolved in harmony with nature's ways. I
express that
with joy and hope for the future.
