Lot’s of things are heating up! The temperature outside is rising and my artwork is HOT. It’s the first time in 17 years I’m looking forward to the summer. I left Phoenix, Arizona last June and resettled in Bend, Oregon. I create my mixed media artworks using encaustic, which needs heat and ventilation (open windows) for safety reasons. When I lived in Phoenix I couldn’t paint in the summer, I’m so glad that isn’t the case anymore.

Heat is also part of my recent body of work, inspired by forest fires. My original interest in forest fires was because the land where my husband grew up was hit by the largest forest fire in Arizona history. Then, right after we moved to Bend the Pole Creek Fire hit Sisters, Oregon. Fire brings us destruction and rebirth, my work is about what is precious, natural and unnatural.


Artwork from Left to Right

1. “Geographies of Memory” 24 x 24 x 2.5, mixed media encaustic
2. “Burn, Broil, Bark” 10 x 10, mixed media encaustic, SOLD
3. “Desaturation” 10 x 10, mixed media encaustic
4. “Assessing the Damage” 20 x 16 x 1.5, mixed media encaustic
5. “Disparate Species” 24 x 24 x 2.5, mixed media encaustic