PEGGY SMITH
Color My World
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PROJECT STATEMENT:
Remember when you were a kid and you got that box of 64 Crayola Crayons? Eagerly - you opened up that box to find the most amazing array of colors. Endless possibility. So many stories just waiting to happen. That’s how I feel when I work in encaustics. The color palette is limitless. The blending of those colors creates even more opportunity. I live and breathe and eat and sleep in color. Color - is what most excites me.
Although the origins of my work are in photography, my image-making never quite spoke to me the way I’d hoped. Always - it fell short of my whatever I imagined. When I stumbled upon photo-encaustic art, I knew it would be my chosen medium. I love its 3-dimensional quality. I love that you can layer in almost any kind of material. I love creating amazing backdrops for the photographs, bringing them to life through the blending of color and design.
There’s nothing new about encaustic art. In fact - it was first noted by Homer in 800 B.C. In the world of alternative photography, anything old is new again. This - for me - is new.
With a photograph as my base, I add layer upon layer of encaustic medium (wax). The wax can be pigmented in any of my imagined colors. With each added layer, comes a new unexpected dimension and mix of transparency, translucency and texture. The expressive possibilities are endless. I sculpt and etch and mark-make within that wax, creating an almost 3-dimensional tactile effect. Often it appears that the image is illuminated from behind.
I do not have a specific theme for this body of work. It is very much in process and a reflection of that. I have been working and experimenting with various forms and subjects - both realistic and abstract. I've taken many classes - both in-person and online. What I most wish to represent here is the journey into my mind throughout these last two years. I've worked to establish my style, and to destroy my style all at the same time. When I step back and look at this adventure - I see my travels, my stories, and especially my romance with color.
But mostly - I see me.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Peggy began her art career as a fiber artist while teaching three-dimensional design at Haverhill High school. Upon moving to Vermont in the 60’s, she continued her art while pursuing a real estate career and raising children. Throughout this period, she developed her own photographs, and incorporated them in collages, silk screens and fabric. Once the digital camera and Adobe became available Peggy found a new way of expressing herself through photographs.
Peggy’s main focus is clay sculpture. She finds that the clay speaks to her in a way that brings out her love of the three-dimensional form and her sense of humor. The forms reveal themselves into characters that take on their own personalities and speak to her about their lives. Because of this, Peggy also looks for the unusual and the humor in everyday life as she travels around the world with her camera. She prefers to travel in countries that are underdeveloped and to look for the unusual to photograph. Then using the creativity of the tools available to manipulate photos she brings a new dimension to her work .
Peggy’s life is full of color and energy which she expresses in her art. Although there are times she takes on more serious subjects, she enjoys the whimsy that happens spontaneously.
To see more of his work, click - here.
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All artwork is available for sale.
For pricing information contact
Peggy Smith:
peggy@stowere.com