Passages

It has been a while since my last post, but I have been working hard on a new series called Passages. It is completely different in form from the Alter Ego series, but just as exciting. What is similar is the content; it is still about relationships, journeys, and transformations.

Together 24x24 Encaustic


In the Garden 24x24 Encaustic


Passages

old love,
cosmic love
always in motion
without explanation.
relationships for a
reason, a season, or a lifetime,
coming together
touching,
crossing,
repelling,
the landscape reminds me of
a fairytale.
old love,
cosmic love.
gravity sinks in.
journeys evolve.


To Have and To Hold 24x24 Encaustic


Undulations 20x20 Encaustic

Alter Egos

"Alter Egos" is the title I am giving to my new series of work in Encaustic. The square, box shapes I have been working with in my imagery has been forming a life all its own. Funny though, it is my life. The alter ego is sort of considered the second self in psychology. It is believed to be a personality, separate and distinct from one's original personality. As these forms take shape, I see people birthed right in front of me, yet they are me all the same. This first piece is called The Other Side.



The Other Side Encaustic

This is just a close-up of the painting, but it gives one the idea of "People" on one side and a sole "Person" on the other side. The idea behind this painting goes deeper in me than I can fully explain, but it alludes to the notion that we often think of things on the other side as being greener, more full and lively. Better than what we have at present. And the question I keep revisiting is "Who said it's better?" Why do I or we chase the things that are glitter and gold, why do we as a society in general continually push to have more and better things. Why can't we be happy with the simple and Less is More mentality.



The Other Side II Encaustic

Some who have seen this recent work have commented that "they" look like robots, which I think would be fitting too for my idea. How often do we follow blindly, like a robot, behind the guise of others too afraid to break free and start a fresh path. Are we robots just doing life as it has been programmed for us, as we think we should? Not even thinking of our next action?



Adjoined Encaustic
In the Shadows Encaustic

So besides thinking about whether I am inside or outside of the box and all the connotations that go along with that, I am percolating about creating these other "Kellie's". I hope to create 100 pieces that are of the 8x8 size to all hang together.



Here and There Encaustic

This piece is sort of a reflection of my inclination to always be here or there, or stated more clearly, with the crowd. My thinking is changing as I paint these pieces. I am coming to know that I am a more solitary person that needs to start to beat to the tune of my own drum. What a wonderful way to be able to work this all out in paint! Here is another Painting titled Unity.



Unity Encaustic

Blog Hop

"Self III" Encaustic 8x8

I was invited by Debra Claffey, NEW member, to join in on this blog hop. The project consists of answering some questions regarding my art process as well as highlight 3 artists I admire.

My answers to the following questions...

1. What am I working on/writing?

As I continue to work both in encaustic and oil with cold wax, I have been working on a visual language that repeatedly addresses the age old phenomenon of the human condition and personal relationships. In a visual sense, I have been stacking boxes. These boxes at times personify the figure itself. In the encaustic pieces, some of the actual structures seem to fall in on themselves or deteriorate, suggesting relationships that are unstable or uncertain. And when we personify something we give it feelings, thoughts, and emotions - essentially, I am using the box as a metaphor for what happens between humans.

2. How does my work/writing differ from others of its genre?

My work is abstract and continues to be focused on form and color. I think it retains a vivid freshness and sense of drama that seems to set it apart from others.

3. Why do I do what I do?

Nothing makes me more at peace with myself than going into the studio and making art. It feeds my soul. When I am away from it, I think, wonder, and dream of it...until I am in the studio again. It is my sacred space.

4. How does my writing/working process work?

My process is an intuitive one. Intuition is defined as the act of knowing without the use of rational processes. In my work I begin with mark making and laying down color. I respond to these over and over again, and the painting develops. My responses are those of feeling and intuition. It is only in the end that the painting reveals to me what it is trying to say. Even I am surprised at times!

Here is my friend and colleague, Dayna Talbot who is currently working on her MFA!



Dayna Talbot was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1954. She has studied at The DeCordova Museum School, Lesley College and Plymouth State University. Dayna received a BFA with distinction from Massachusetts College of Art and is presently working on her MFA at Lesley University College of Art and Design. Her more recent work focuses on printmaking and painting, using oils, acrylics and encaustics as her medium. Through meditations her work conveys the emotion of the landscape with rhythms of color, light and form. Dayna’s work has been exhibited nationally and in many juried group shows, and is included in many private and public collections. The artist lives and works in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Jeanne Borofsky, also a member of New England Wax, is the most free spirited person I know!



Jeanne Borofsky, BFA, MFA, is internationally recognized, with paintings, prints and drawings in numerous museums and private collections. She was born in New Hampshire, and after several moves settled in Groton, MA with her husband Jerr. They have two grown children. Jeanne has been a practicing artist for over 50 years. She has painted with watercolors, oils, encaustics, rubber stamps and collages, and is a printmaker - traditional, photographic, encaustic & digital. Jeanne is also a part-time Digital Imaging Specialist and graphic designer, and is a past president of New England Wax.

Finally, Kimberly Curry is one of the friendliest people you could ever meet!



Kimberly Curry shows her work of encaustic paintings throughout New England and nationally. She has been invited to participate in many group shows, including the Art Complex Museum, Dyer Museum, Steamboat Springs Art Council, Conrad Wilde Gallery, and 3fish Gallery. Curry received her BS in Interior Design from Wentworth Institute of Technology. She is the chair of the board at Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Her home and studio are in Portland, Maine.

Why Boxes?

Self II 12x12 Encaustic

My blog has been dormant for a while because I have been trying to decipher exactly what it is that I am doing. I have said to friends, "I keep stacking boxes, and I don't know what it means...". Some have implied that I didn't have to know the meaning just yet. So, since I came back from my residency in Vermont I have been developing a new visual language to describe again that age old phenomenon of the human condition and our relationships with ourselves and others. But why boxes?

Enveloped II 8x8 Encaustic

I think they lend themselves to many things. First off, they tend to resemble the figure itself. But if we think about the box, a box is something we put things in. It is used to separate, to compartmentalize, to create boundaries. We do that with objects, yes. But what about feelings, memories, and thoughts? Are we in a way, "boxes"? In my imagery, these boxes lean on each other. Could these relationships be a supportive leaning or something negative? In the encaustic pieces, some of the actual structures seem to deteriorate, perhaps suggesting dissolving or uncertain relationships.

Self I 12x12 Encaustic

Then we can think of what is inside verses outside the box. First, are we inside or outside the box? And then who, if anyone, is placing us there and just what does that mean?? Then there is the ritual of stacking the boxes, which suggests obsession and a sense of being overwhelmed. On the other hand, the boxes in these paintings are inclined to balance in space, suggesting a source of strength and stability.

Merging VII 13x13 Oil on Paper

These are all questions and thoughts that are developing while I continue on this new series of paintings. Hopefully they are little sparks for conversations I can have with myself and others about the promises and inner strengths required to keep in our boxes for the journey ahead. What's in your box?

Self IV 8x8 Encaustic

It's Been A While...

I have spent quite a while preparing for both my two week residency at the Vermont Studio Center and my solo show at Fountain Street Fine Art Gallery in Framingham Massachusetts. In January, I spent time in Vermont, which proved to be one of the most incredible experiences in my career as an artist. Despite the fact that it was record cold temperatures and spitting snow most of the time, it was a beautiful retreat from life. What an honor it was to be able to spend time in an outstanding studio day after day, hour after hour, painting - in my glory! Here are some of the studio shots...

Did I mention...the food was incredible! Breakfast, lunch, dinner - Fabulous. Coffee, available around the clock. Supply store, coffee shop, and book store all within walking distance. In the evenings there were presentations from both the residents and the visiting artists and writers. Creativity was at your every step. The Center also had visiting artists and writers who provided critiques for the residents...which I found thought provoking and stimulating. Here I am with some of the new work which I hope to post soon.

Oh, and you couldn't beat the view from my studio windows!

Then I came back home and it took me a while to get back to reality. I was living in such a bubble in Vermont, it was great, but now it was time to get back to life as it really is. I had my upcoming show to attend to; pess releases, postcards, emails, phone calls, all those things I avoided while I was gone. But all of my hard work throughout the last year paid off. With an article in the Globe a few days before my show reception, and a great collaborative installation, I was finally able to enjoy my work. Here are some photos from the opening...

Success!

Second Chances

"Just This Once" 14x14 Encaustic

These two paintings are about time and its fleeting nature; we cannot grasp it, hold on to it. We need to enjoy every second that we have because we don't know if we will get a second chance in this life. The fact that there are two paintings titled "Just This Once" is but a paradox perhaps tricking us into thinking that we have extra time, or time to do things over, but the time is now!


Seize the Day!

"Just This Once II" 14x14 Encaustic

Chance or meant to be?

"Circumstance" 24x24 Encaustic

How much in life happens by chance? Or perhaps it was always meant to be... In the painting "Circumstance", a lot of the linear devices deliver the viewer through the work from one space to the next, from the top to the bottom. Yet there are many interruptions along the way...much like what happens in life. I have included this painting in my series "Fabrications" because it is about building and transition. But I question the idea of building; we make plans and we construct our lives and in my experience, most often these plans are frequently thwarted and it makes me think- Maybe there is a divine plan, a bigger picture...when I force my will, things don't work as I expect. I find my plan is always being interrupted for circumstance; yet is it chance, or was it meant to be? Or is there really a difference between the two? Perhaps they are one in the same. We can build so much on our own and the rest is left to, well, you decide...

"With Reservation" 30x30 Encaustic

This painting is very simple and to the point for me. Things in this piece seem to be spilling out, and in my experience in life, when I withhold things and keep my emotions inside of myself, things have a tendency of spilling over. There needs to be a fine balance between the things we share and the things we hold so that nothing is lost or compromised.