.: July 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

New work, July 2008

Blue Moon
Encaustic medium and handmade paper on wood panel
12" x 12" x 2"
July 2008

Mail Box Panels
Encaustic Collage and handmade paper on wood panel
12" x 8" x 2"
July 2008
SOLD MAY 2009

Silent Man

Encaustic collage on wood panel
8" x 12" x 2"
July 2008

Corn Palace
Encaustic painting on wood panel
12" x 12" x 2"
July 2008

Day Sky
Encaustic collage on wood panel
8" x 12" x 2"
July 2008

Night Flight
Encaustic collage on wood panel
11.5" x 8" x 2"
July 2008

Triplet Roadtrip
Encaustic collage on wood panel
Map, dress pattern, Xerox transfer, photocopies,
stick pin and keychain
12" x 12" x 2"
July 2008

The Human Skeleton
Encaustic collage on panel
11.75" x 7.75" x 2"
July 2008

Cords
Encaustic collage on wood panel
7.25" x 7.25" x .75"
July 2008

Artist Statement

I am interested in the written word and how type and graphics play with each other in my artwork. I’m attracted to the unusual and absurd. The shape of letters and words on a page, a road sign or words painted on buildings all attract my attention. I always have a camera at hand while traveling to capture unusual signs or statues. Signs as simple as “Coyote crossing” to a more bizarre interstate highway sign I discovered which pointed to an exit for the “Minnesota Sexual Psychopathic Personality Treatment Center” peak my interest. I am also attracted to larger-than-life statues. What possesses a town to build a giant goose or strawberry to announce the entrance to their community? People have described me as a “robot in alien clothing.” I seem ordinary on the outside but have an unexpected satirical side. I want people to look at my work and be surprised by the words, the graphics, the colors. I want them to laugh and to cry. I want them to wonder – why is that woman in the cornfield or why are those men holding bowling balls while standing in the Badlands? I incorporate vintage items with new. I bring words and photos together with collage. Type, signage, the human form, land and the bizarre make up the landscape of my work. Collage is laborious and thought-provoking. The process itself is what holds the piece together. Elements can’t just be moved with a click of the mouse once they’re glued down. I incorporate original photographs, vintage papers, handwriting, typewriting, paint, pencil and found objects. Encaustic medium ties my art together. The beeswax adds a dream element to my work and seals in the mystique.--Sheri Michaels