The Process of Making a New Sculpture

I always find it to be wonderfully thought-provoking to learn the whats, the whys and the hows about a particular piece or about a body of work. Understanding an artist’s process can be incredibly fascinating and telling. I am a very process oriented artist and this is evident in many of my series including my encaustic Urban Windows series, my encaustic tile Tesserae series and most recently in my encaustic and fiber vessels and sculptures. Last month I began a new encaustic and fiber sculpture and I thought that it might be interesting to document the making of this new piece.



Window no. 34 (6.75"x6.75",encaustic)


Tesserae X (18"x18", encaustic tiles)


Since I made my first encaustic and fiber Vessel in 2011, each work was created in a purely intuitive manner. As my designs became larger and more complex I began to create models. Coming Together began as a drawing and from this drawing I made a paper model.





By creating this model I was able to determine that in order to get the result that I wanted I would need to begin with a shape that was 9 feet long! So equipped with this daunting information, I began by cutting out strips of cheesecloth. Once I made the decision as to the general color palette I wanted this piece to have I painted the many fiber strips with encaustic paint. I mix the colors for each strip separately ensuring an interesting and complex finished look.





The strips are then folded and woven and given a layer or two of clear encaustic medium all of which give the piece additional strength. At this point the work is given a wire armature which allows for support. Using pottery tools, the entire piece is hemmed and the shape of the sculpture is formed.


Coming Together (9”x12”x13”, encaustic, cheesecloth, wire)