Lightworks

DISAPPEAR

Disappear consists of twelve layered encaustic monotypes with backlighting, inspired by an airplane flight I took over the Louisiana wetlands' lace-like structure of land and water with glinting sunlight. Louisiana loses a football field of land every hour, caused by sea-level rise, hurricanes, the oil disaster in the Gulf, and canals dug by the oil industry. The fragility of the cut paper speaks to the fragility of all of nature and the need to care for it. These encaustic images are pierced, cut, and layered. The lighting produces shadows, and with backlighting, the clear wax areas are bright and translucent, while the unprinted areas without encaustic appear darker.

Disappear, 2009, 78 x 80 in, Encaustic on two layers of hand cut paper with lights behind.

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice reflects my concerns about the environment and climate change, particularly in the hot, dry Southwest. The piece consists of eight free-hanging wax prints in two layers lit from behind. The layered and translucent wax patterns merge, blend, and recede in mystery.

Fire and Ice, 2012, 42 x 104 in, Layered encaustic monotypes

Water At My Door (2014), 96 x 43 in. Private Collection, US.

Water At My Door is a large-scale encaustic work on paper inspired by my childhood memories and my concerns about our rapidly changing natural world. The piece delves into the deep waters of the psyche. Growing up on the Gulf of Mexico meant being attuned to the weather's turbulent incursions in our lives. Having survived hurricanes and floods, the unpredictable chaos of nature is always with me. The video's light and movement relate to metaphorical passages through the waters of art and life.

Connect the Dots

Images may have back-lighting or use ambient lighting