Encaustic Arts Magazine Spring 2014 | Page 30

! ! Later that year, I moved to Minnesota where I studied sculpture, including metal arts and bronze casting at the University of Minnesota with Wayne Potratz. Six winters in Saint Paul eventually drove me back to sunny California where I continued doing bronze casting at Diablo Valley College in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2009, I began working in encaustic which I enjoy because of its versatility. One can paint with it, sculpt it, cast it, etch into it. It presents a myriad of possibilities. My work is inspired by the natural world: plant and sea life, especially pods, cocoons and sea anemones. It is nature-referential rather than replication. The three dimensional work resemble objects in nature, but they are unique abstractions. The materials I use are beeswax, resin, wood, and earth pigments which all tie into nature. ! ! ! ! Pod Earth Beeswax, resin, oil, raffia 6”x 9” x 6” 2012 ! ! ! ! !