My Artist Residency

This past May, I spent two weeks as an artist-in-residence at the Grand Marais Art Colony on Minnesota’s North Shore. Like many meaningful experiences, it was both simpler and more demanding than I anticipated. My days were shaped by long stretches of uninterrupted studio time, conversations with fellow artists, an effort to pay attention to every little thing, and nearly daily hikes along the miles of the Superior Hiking Trail that wind through the Sawtooth Mountains.

I arrived with very little idea of what I wanted to explore in my work. What I quickly discovered was a renewed appreciation for the role nature plays in my creative practice and a reminder that some of my best work emerges when I am willing to go with the flow, let go of expectations, and see what the day brings.

For some time, I had wanted to explore using oil sticks more intentionally in my encaustic paintings. On my first day in the studio, I loosely mixed Green Gold and Ultramarine Blue Pale, then used a palette knife to spread the paint (about the consistency of lipstick) across a stencil I had cut from palette paper and pressed into the wax surface. A light fusing adhered the oil paint to the encaustic, creating a luminous effect that accentuated the texture beneath.

That simple experiment opened an entirely new pathway. By slicing small pieces from the oil sticks, blending them with a palette knife, and smearing them (the technical term!) across my stencils, I began creating surprising color combinations and crisp, fanciful patterns. The process felt equal parts discovery and play. Each layer revealed something unexpected, and each painting suggested new possibilities for the next. What began as a technical exploration became something more…a way of bringing together close observation, intuition, and a willingness to follow where the work wanted to go.

Below are four 24” x 24”pieces started during my residency, inspired by my hikes, and featuring my hand cut stencils on encaustic paint with oil sticks.