Studio Wednesday

          I have been thinking a lot about where I come from as of late- thinking about connections with the earth and my ancestors- thinking a lot about these ladies pictured above- my Grandma- Great Aunt and a long forgotten cousin. Young women posing by the lake and in their Sunday best- familiar faces yet totally a mystery at the same time. They are part of a life I have very little connection to- life on the prairies- on a farm- before- during and after the Depression.

          In the studio I am starting to explore their lives- explore ties to a farm and land I have never visited yet feel strangely connected to.  I am bungling my way through working with encaustic again this week- enjoying the physical act of scraping back more so than building up layers. Loving how the wax reminds me of layers of prairie sky- creating depth by working the under painting in oil and graphite- honest materials for a more basic and possibly more honest imagery.

         So much about this life of my own amazes me- the fact that I can "play around" in the studio where only a few generations ago my family was working to eat- literally farm to table. The pretension that surrounds much of what I do does not go unnoticed- the shear luxury I have to pursue this life as an artist. Yet the connection between my Grandmother and art is strong and the reason I am who I am- she gave me my first set of oil paints for my eight birthday- she was a painter.