Simply Complicated Design. by Stacy

Challenged with “whimsy,” I took a turn outside my usual path and went with fish (definitely not my norm), AND medium. (I need a bag of clay).

Laying down the scrabble tiles- easy enough… then came three coats of paint to reach that deep background, and satisfy my previous “that looks like crap” at each coat. Cutting out all those tiny fish? Let’s just say it tested my patience—and my eyesight.

Somewhere along the way, the words I had planned shifted. The fish became more than shapes—they turned into little carriers of memories and emotion.

And in the end, one of them refused to follow the well-traveled route. Completely unplanned… just the way it needed to be.

Completely wrapped up in a new obsession—rusted papers.

No two sheets come out the same… each one feels like uncovering a little surprise. I’m dialing in the process more each time, learning how to get the best impressions from every rusty fragment I can find.

The studio currently smells like vinegar (lucky me, everyone here is patient 😄), but it’s all part of the magic. These are going to be stunning once they’re incorporated into an encaustic piece.

Included in this process is a favorite activity of mine - digging through old barns. The smell of an old barn, the finds, the history. This Missouri barn didn’t disappoint.

ACCUMULATION. Encaustic will humble you. layer after layer of wax, adding, scraping back, flame, repeating. There are always moments in the middle where I’m convinced I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing and should probably go back to clay. But, I stay with it. Add something. Scrape something away. Trust the process. Question the process. Repeat. Somewhere in all those layers, the piece finally starts to reveal itself. This one took a lot of wandering to get here. And yet, it’s still not there. .

And collage with encaustic wax/painting. this took awhile wondering if it was headed for the trash. I think I like it. Available for purchase. On board.

and a bit more Available for purchase

It’s time to head back to clay but I thought I would show a bit of what I’ve been messing around with. There’s something so calming about glue and paper.

This gave me the oooo’s and ahhh’s when I opened the kiln