We Build Our Own Cages 6: Ego Painting

Mary's artistic journey began with a fascination for all things bright and beautiful. Growing up in a small Montana town afforded many opportunities to revel in the glory of Mother Nature, but not a lot of cultural opportunity. Second oldest of eleven children, and raised in a very strict traditional Catholic home, Mary was exposed to a lot of religious art as a child and became interested in more contemporary art as she got older. After Graduating from Stevensville High School in 1992, Mary attended the University of Montana where she studied theater. During this time period she mainly painted with oils and watercolors in her spare time. After her husband joined the Army in 2002, Mary and her growing family moved to Germany. When the youngest of her four children started school in 2009, Mary began painting and drawing again. In 2010, Mary stumbled upon a book about Mixed Media art that included a section on encaustic. Enthralled by the luminosity and multiple possibilities afforded by wax, Mary quickly decided to give it a try. Mary's work is in numerous private collections around the world and has been exhibited internationally, and she won first place in her first juried exhibition in September of 2011. Currently working nearly exclusively in Encaustic, Mary is excited to learn new techniques, and is particularly excited by some of the sculptural qualities of wax. ARTIST'S STATEMENT Religion, philosophy and an abiding love for nature have influenced me throughout my life. My relationship with religion is a love hate one that often finds its way into my art, often in the form of the ancient Latin prayers that were found in the traditional Mass that I attended throughout my childhood and into my early twenties. Light and dark, the internal struggles that we are all engaged in, the beauty that lies in deep sorrow, these are all reflected in my work. Encaustics and their tactile, seductive, enduring nature, as well as their versatility have really found themselves a loving home in my heart. I can't help but smile when I smell the wax heating up, and the lush, luminous colors of beautifully pigmented wax make my heart pound in a way that no other medium does. The ability to, in a way, fossilize little bits of nature in another naturally occurring substance appeals to the Henry David Thoreau in me. The brilliance of the wax can help to liberate the spontaneous abstract energy that helps me release pent up emotion.