YES, A New Beginning for New England Wax

Those members present at a meeting of New England Wax yesterday voted to continue New England Wax with a new structure in 2011. This is very good news for all of us who have benefited so much from the wonderful friendships and networking that have resulted from this group.

I was not present at the meeting, but those members who were undertook the task of setting the direction for the revamped organization. They did a wonderful job by honestly evaluating the group and deciding how to move forward in the best way. I commend them on their decisiveness and wisdom about how to proceed.

Membership for 2011 will be by invitation, and they have prepared a list of 48 current members who will be invited for 2011. They have put in place a temporary structure to carry the group forward until voting in more permanent officers at a planned meeting at the end of January. For the time being, they have tabled some decisions about further shaping of the group, but they have put them on the agenda for the future. I admire and applaud the deliberation and action that was taken. My name is on the list of 48 and I, along with Kim, Sue Katz and Lynette Haggard, have been offered a complementary membership for 2011. I will be happy to accept and settle in as one of the many fortunate members of the new NEW. I think I will enjoy plain, old membership a lot without having to do so much work. Of course I will be happy to volunteer for various tasks, but I am resolving to let someone else have a chance at taking charge.

Thank you, NEW members, for rising to the occasion and believing in the value of keeping New England Wax.  Onward and upward into the new year!

(Images from the internet except for the NEW logo, designed by Sue Katz)

New England Wax - A New Beginning?

New England Wax is undergoing a big change. Will it survive the resignation of its Chair, Co-Chair and Advisory Panel? Only time will tell. Here's the story from my perspective.

I've been a member of NEW for three or four years, and after I organized NEW's side of The Diptych Project, I became the Co-Chair to Kim Bernard's Chair and also managed the group's website. From its beginning, the group was loosely organized as a way for New England artists interested in painting with encaustic to get together, share ideas and network. NEW members had eight or nine juried exhibitions together, and we also published two catalogs of shows. After a while the group grew to a size that required a lot of work to manage. Rather than cutting off membership at a certain number, we decided last year to begin requiring a little more stringent application process for membership. Kim and I also invited five members to form an Advisory Panel to assist us with decisions and give their input on various aspects of group management.

NEW members at the opening of The Diptych Project, Whitney Art Works, Portland, Maine, April 2008

This fall the seven of us (Kim, me, Lynette Haggard, Misa Galazzi, Kathleen "Scout" Austin, Sue Katz, Greg Wright) began lengthy discussions about the future of NEW. The pressure of increasing applications for membership had started to make itself felt, and we also thought that the group needed to be given more structure by instituting by-laws, officers, perhaps a jurying process for membership, etc. Also, despite our intention to involve more people in volunteering to perform various group tasks, this did not happen due to lack of volunteers, lack of delegation, lack of insistence on task sharing, or a combination of all of the above. A very few people were doing all the work of maintaining the group and becoming burned out.

NEW meeting at Mass. College of Art, November 2009

Members at Mass. College of Art meeting

As the discussions went on, we decided that we, as individuals, did not want to be involved in the restructuring.because we thought it would take too much time and involve some lengthy discussions in which we did not want to be involved. Also, we were all working on our art careers, having some success moving things forward, and thought that doing the heavy lifting for NEW would distract us from our individual work. We also thought about what the group might become after going through such a reorganization, and we decided that it did not fit the description of what we each wanted from a group.

Binnie Birstein, Dawna Bemis, Joanne Mattera, Misa Galazzi at NEW's show at Fairfield Arts Council, April 2010

As a result of our discussions, Kim and I and the Advisory Panel have all decided to resign from group management of New England Wax. This Saturday, NEW will have a meeting to decide whether it will continue in some new form or dissolve.

I am writing this post to let the encaustic community know what is happening because New England Wax was the first encaustic group to be formed after International Encaustic Artists (originally West Coast Encaustic Artists) and is well-known by many people. NEW was formed at the suggestion of Joanne Mattera and got its start because of networking through the encaustic conference. Before any other announcements are made or rumors are circulated about the evolution or devolution of New England Wax, I wanted to let people in on what brought us to our decision, and also to say that New England Wax has been one of the best things to have happened to me personally. It has enabled me not only to form strong bonds with many other artists in and outside New England but to further my work in encaustic more quickly and more deeply than I would have imagined. Between NEW and the encaustic conferences, I have been able to build a foundation of knowledge and expertise that has let me find my own way in using this wonderful medium.

Kim Bernard at the opening of her show at the encaustic conference 2009

I am very grateful to Kim Bernard for starting New England Wax and for being the competent, inspiring and diplomatic leader that she has always been. She has been a role model for us all. Thanks go also to Lynette Haggard for maintaining our Yahoo site, to Sue Katz for designing cards and other materials - including the NEW logo - for us, to Scout, Misa and Greg for their support and advice in the Advisory Panel and to all the other unsung members who have contributed to the success of New England Wax. 

The Questionnaire: Kimberly Curry

The Questionnaire is meant to be a lighter version of a bio, a little more revealing in some respects and personal without all the facts bogging it down. I supply the questions and the respondents supply the answers. Either one or both of us supply the images.

            K i m b e r l y  C u r r y           

What is your favorite color?

I don't really have a favorite color. Even as a kid, my "favorite color" was pink, yellow, blue (I would say it as one word if anyone asked me) I can say I have "leanings" toward one color over other at different times in my life. These days (and for sometime) I have leaned toward orange.

Kimberly Curry: Urban Legend, encaustic on board, 5.5" x 5.5", 2010

What is your favorite word?

Actually.  (I love that you can stick it any where and it makes you sound like you are about to say something profound.) 

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

Balance, humor and whimsy 

Kimberly Curry: Galactic Silhouette, encaustic on board, 5.5" x 5.5", 2010

What turns you off?

Stress 

What profession other than artist would you most like to be?

Motivational speaker and author 

Rainer Maria Rilke,

What is your favorite book or movie? 

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke 

4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926) Rilke was a Bohemian–Austrian poet and art critic. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language. His haunting images focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety: themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist poets. (from Wikipedia)

Who is your favorite musician, musical group or style of music?

This totally varies on my mood! Range is from pop, folk, classical, electronica. I do get melty when I hear Jason Harrod (folk singer) who is in NYC. He performed at my 40th b-day bash. That was fun! 

What do you most value in your friends?

Consistent kindness laced with humor 

Name three artists whose work has influenced your own or whose work you most relate to.

(Cosmina,Oxi and Doru are artist friends of mine I met in Romania when I was there as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I own a lot of their art. I have been deeply influenced by them.)  

Doru Dragoi, Silence

1. Doru Dragoi
Note about Doru - talented in many levels - poetry, music, visual and performance art. Doru is a natural leader. This piece Silence is a reflection of his sensitivity and awareness. He is currently finishing up his studies at the University of Bucharest to be a theatre director

Cosima Dragomir, Blue Nude

2. Cosmina Dragomir 

Note about Cosmina - a textile artist by training, this piece (which is 6'x2') uses lots of texture in her work. This is one of her final paintings from university. She was broke and had to use tar and trash to create it. She received very high marks for the work and I feel in love with it immediately. She works huge.

Oxi Axinte, Our Lady of Sorrows

3. Adrian "Oxi" Axinte
Note about Oxi - I was in Spain on a bus, traveling with 35 Romanian, Spanish and Italian youths. Oxi sat next to me with his unlit cigarette (being unable to smoke on the bus, he kept the cigarette in his hand or his mouth until he could lite up) when he declared "I want to make you a sculpture! I will do this for you." And so, a year later I received a package in the mail and it was this Romanian icon. Oxi is not at all religious, but he is very proud of his country and icons in Eastern Europe are sometimes more of a statement of culture than religious symbol. He and Cosmina went to the same university in Bucharest. His degree is in metal sculpture and painting. 

Name an artist whose work you admire but which may be unlike yours.

Joan Miró 

Joan Miro: The Garden

Kimberly Curry (right) with Jeanne Griffin at the opening of Ancient Medium, NEW Terrain
at the Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, Mass., May 17, 2009

What is your idea of earthly happiness?

A good cup of coffee, a quiet morning and a great book in my hands

WORKS BY KIMBERLY CURRY

Time Travel, encaustic, handmade paper, thread on panel, 6" x 6", 2008

Change in Motion, encaustic, handmade paper, thread on panel, 18" x 14", 2008

Zazzle, encaustic, handmade paper, thread on panel, 6"x 6", 2009

Atomic, encaustic, handmade paper, thread on panel, 20"x16", 2009

Kimberly will be showing work in the Teeny, Tiny Show at Three Graces Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, this September.

Check out Kimberly's website - www.kimberlycurryart.com

and newenglandwax.org

Art's Fringe Benefits

Hanging out with other artists and talking art is nearly as good as making the stuff. No one gets it like other artists do, and an extended stretch of time with art pals is just a wonderful time to share news, enthusiasms, stories and opinions about art.

Binnie Birstein before the opening of NEW @ FAC

Last weekend I spent nearly two days talking art and hanging out with friends at the NEW @ FAC show in Fairfield, Connecticut. We even managed to fit in a pajama party at Binnie's on Saturday night.


Here are a few images of work in the show. There were 55 pieces of work in encaustic altogether, so not all the work is included here. (NEW members can see all my photos on our yahoo site.) The show is on until June 25th, which means it will still be up during and after the encaustic conference.

This work was in the entryway: LtoR - Kim Bernard, Pat Gerkin, Binnie Birstein, Nancy Natale

It kills me to post this horrible picture of myself, but I do want to show you Billie Jean Sullivan, Director of FAC, in blue, Show Organizer Binnie Birstein in the white shawl and Curator Laura Einstein on the far right. Laura did an excellent job selecting the work and finding a way to hang it all and meld it into a unified exhibition.

This is part of the first wall after the entryway. LtoR work is by Donna Hamil Talman (2), Misa Galazzi (top), Dawna Bemis (2), Ken Eason (2), Helene Farrar (top), Barbara Cone and part of a work by Earl Schofield.

Work by Beverly Rippel (top), Sharon Coffin, Sue Katz (2) and Binnie Birstein.

These are by Diane Langley on the left and Linda Cordner on the right.

Corner piece by Carol Odell, sculpture and painting on right by Kim Bernard.

Kim's piece again with two by Gregory Wright.

LtoR: A diptych and single panel piece by Rick Green, two landscapes by Pam DeJong, blue landscape by Charyl Weissbach and bottom work by Suzanne Des Rosiers.

Two pieces by Alison Golder on the left, then Kellie Weeks and Lelia Weinstein.

On Sunday we did a two-hour talk and demo and were happily surprised when Joanne Mattera stopped by on her way out of New York. (LtoR: Binnie, Dawna Bemis, Joanne, Misa Galazzi.)

Here is Binnie demonstrating use of a propane torch.

Dawna talking about her work.

And Misa showing us a book that documented a recent solo show of her work.

Do you think Binnie is talking about painting with encaustic or techniques of flying here?

Whatever it was, Binnie did a great job introducing New England Wax to the Fairfield Arts Council and providing lots of fun for artist pals.

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Bulletin: The number of Art in the Studio followers has hit 100! Welcome followers. I hope I can keep you interested and entertained - or at least amused.

More Collage + Encaustic

Sometimes I feel like I spend my whole life stumbling around like Mr. Magoo at the hind end of the elephant, taking the tail for the whole beast. Myopia is me. I get so focused on whatever is near at hand or last to arrive in my mind, that I can't see the big picture or remember what came before.

Cuppa, collage with encaustic and oilstick on book cover, about 7"x5".

Or maybe it's just that I get so wrapped up in the new, that I forget the old? Anyway, I'm in the studio and having a really fun time making these little collages on book covers. I'm making some bigger work at the same time, but these little pieces are very enjoyable.

Hear Ye, collage with encaustic and oilstick on book cover, about 7"x5"

What I mean by my opening statements is that in my rush to embrace the next new thing, I completely erase all memory of what had me so engaged with the old, abandoned thing. I forgot that I really love doing collage, that is, I love the kind of collage that's more like mosaic because I really love mosaic. You see how it goes.

In the Pool, collage with encaustic on book cover, about 9"x 5.5"

I've done mosaic with glass and tiles but that's a lot more work than these and you have to be careful about glass splinters. Plus it's very heavy. All I have to be careful about with these is the paper storm that I have brewing on one of my tables. I hope it doesn't get hot too quick because if I turn on a fan, I'm done for.

Wish You Were Here, collage with encaustic on book cover, about 9"x 5.5"

In Other News 
I received the stolen and recovered paintings back from Tucson today. I kind of dreaded opening them to see their condition, but they weren't bad - a few chips and scrapes. I think the rubber surrounding the panels in place of frames really saved them from more damage. That's one of the great things about encaustic - easily fixable.


Preparing for NEW @ FAC
New England Wax is having an exhibition at the Fairfield Arts Council gallery in Fairfield, CT that opens next week. It was organized by my pal, Binnie Birstein, who lives in Connecticut and belongs to the FAC as well as to NEW. The show was juried and curated by Laura Epstein, who has a background in Asian and contemporary art. I've been working on the show for a while - gathering images, preparing lists of accepted work, putting together the catalog, etc. This Saturday I'm helping to receive, unwrap and check in paintings. There's really so much work to it all. It's worse than housework - but more exciting and with a better ending. (You do know that you can click on these images and see them larger, right?)

Learning Lessons

Happy May! Later this month New England Wax will be exhibiting work by 33 members in a show juried by Laura Einstein at the Fairfield Arts Council gallery in Fairfield, Connecticut. In conjunction with the larger show, there will be a group of small works in encaustic shown in the Director's Office. These pieces will be a maximum of 12" in size and priced at a maximum of $100 each. Unlike work in most shows, these paintings can be taken off the wall and brought home right away - perfect for our instant gratification culture.

Little Chain, encaustic and beads on 6"x6" panel

I started making some of these little paintings in between working on larger pieces and had a good time with them. I find that I can be a lot more abstract than I am able to be with a larger piece. Why is that? I wish I could translate it into larger work, but it doesn't seem to work out.

Little Islands, encaustic, beads and felt on 6"x6" panel

These are really fun to do because they are so immediate. I used up all the 6x6 and 6x8 panels I had and ordered more.

Little Dance, encaustic and felt on 6x8 panel

It was fun to make gestural marks like this. I shy away from doing it or obliterate them when they are in a bigger context. Let them live!

The Sleeping House, encaustic and book page on 6x8 panel

This piece probably has too much going on for such a little painting. It changes the palette that I used in the others by bringing in the dark red/orange. Is it all too much? I can't tell. This image also doesn't capture the shimmer of the iridescent paint I used in places.

Little Bouquet, encaustic and mixed media on 6x8 panel

(You can tell I wasn't too inspired in my naming process.) This piece really changes up the palette. I began it when I was teaching my Smith class and showing them some techniques.

So now that I'm experimenting with these little guys and have received a new supply of little panels, I have dug out all the odd colors I bought as impulse purchases at conferences or online. I have had some of them since I first started painting with encaustic and have never even opened the packages. I get stuck in such a color rut that I need to expand my horizons.

Sometimes I feel that the longer I paint, the more I have to learn - both about the process and about myself. Do we ever stop learning?

Just in case, you thought that in fact there was an end to the learning process, I present to you Alice deBoton who recently passed away at the age of 103. Possibly you have seen her already if you have "encaustic" as a Google filter. I just love this image of deBoton with the torch. If you want to read more, here's a link to an obituary which tells of her remarkable life http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2010/04/15/local-artist-lives-until-age-103/. It says that she took up encaustic as a medium in the 1980s, which would have been in her 70s. Now that's inspiring!

New England Wax at the DeCordova Museum

Unfortunately, no, this heading does not mean that NEW is showing at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park. We had one of our meetings there last Saturday for a change of scene and so that we could take a look at their Biennial Exhibition*. We had a lovely catered lunch, a tiny bit of group business and then a wonderful time playing a getting-to-know-you game devised by our Chair, Kim Bernard.

Happy diners at the DeCordova lunch - Table 1

More happy diners - Table 2

Another happy group - Table 3

And still more - Table 4

A view of the whole room. You can see that we were actually seated in a gallery (the Dewey Family Gallery) and were surrounded with art.


After lunch and the brief business session, we moved our chairs to the back of the room and arranged them in a circle. We were about to play a game based on the concept of speed dating.

In this version of speed dating, we paired off in sets of two within the big circle of chairs. 

Kim explaining the game to us.

Each pair had three minutes to discuss a question that Kim asked the entire group. Some of the questions were (to the best of my recollection):

What is something you do or are that can't be seen from looking at you?
What is your greatest strength?
What is your greatest weakness?
What is the one thing you hope to accomplish in life?
What do you do for fun?
Where is the one place you would like to travel to?
If you could come back in another life, what would you be?

(If you were at the meeting and can remember any more of the questions, I wish you would post them in a comment because there were some really great ones.)

We weren't supposed to talk between partners. We abided by the rules initially, but as we grew more comfortable we kept chatting. Eventually, Kim had to resort to saying, "if you can hear me, clap once," in between sessions to get our attention. Hey, if it works for first graders...

You could either move around the room to find a partner or just stay seated and let a partner find you. Most of us did a combination. The goal was to meet and talk to everyone in the room. There were 34 of us there, I think, and we nearly succeeded in completing the whole mission before the meeting's end.

What a great time we had talking with each other and getting to break the ice with new people a little bit without the pressure of having to invent something to talk about. Even with people we thought we knew fairly well, we learned new information. Some of the questions resulted in surprisingly self-revelatory answers that were fuel for future contemplation.

I really enjoyed this meeting and didn't come away from it feeling like I had suffered through a grueling session  of minutia and group business. This really allowed us to focus on each other without stress and complications. Well done, Kim!


Coming up in my next post: sculpture from the DeCordova sculpture park.


*I was disappointed in the work included in the Biennial which I found too trendy, scattered and working very hard to seem like it had something to say without making art that looked like art. (Can I just say that nothing in art is unintentional no matter how hard you try to make it look that way.) I gave it a thumbs down - for what my opinion's worth.