A conversation in a series of isolated events.

A conversation in a series of isolated events.

Commissions, Encaustic, Sketchbook

A conversation in a series of isolated events. I just completed this encaustic commission for my college roommate from 1986/87. We were close friends back then and lost touch after college, but reconnected on Facebook, as you do these days. She has been following my art work for the past several years and reached out to me about doing a commission of her for her new house. This woman has been an English teacher and reporter for 15 years and in her own words, “…I am fascinated with words; my life is words.” She turned 49 (as did I) last year and has begun practicing yoga, an important connection to her Indian roots. She had seen some of the pieces from my “Woman and Her Needs” series of drawings of women in a 100 year old book, as well as this particular encaustic piece, Downy (right), which depicts a woman in my signature style surrounded by leaves over a collage of vintage dictionary pages and other found papers. We agreed on a 20×20” encaustic piece that would fit beautifully in a place of honor in her home and I suggested that she choose words that had special meaning for her. Here are her words and her explanations for her choices: Figurative Highlights my love for speaking metaphorically, especially to my students. This also has a double meaning. The drawing is a figure, so I thought it appropriate inside and outside of the canvas window. Form Another word for structure, which I am – sadly so or not. Formal I prefer a formal, classic style in décor, writing, literature, dress,...