Montserrat Report - Encaustic Conference

The 2nd Encaustic Conference has come and gone. It was as good this year as last....maybe better. Right off the bat, with Kay WalkingStick the keynote speaker on Friday night, the tone was set for more conversation about the message our work sends. She is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and has been an active part of the renaissance of NativeAmerican fine art in the United States. It was truly a pleasure to hear her speak about her work.

There was plenty of art to be seen at Montserrat this year. "Hue Again", Joanne Mattera's exhibition was displayed in the Schlosberg Alumni Gallery on the first floor of the school.

On the second floor hallway was the "Diptych Project", an exhibition of work by artists from both the International Encaustic Artist (IEA) and New England Wax (NEW) groups.

In the Montserrat Gallery you could see the exhibition "Therefore & Because: Decoding Norman Laliberté"

The 301 Gallery again housed this years juried exhibition "On the Edge" juried by Laura Moriarity. These are just a few of the images that I loved in this exhibition. There were others. These two paintings on paper are by Russell Thurston.

Work by Cari Hernandez.

Paintings by Paula Roland.

The flowers planted around Salem and Beverly were as beautiful this year as last. I particularly loved the Peonies and Rhododendrons. Deanna Wood and Kate Miller and I took a break on Monday for a visit to Rockport where this picture was taken. Little gardens in front almost every shop were filled with all kinds of flowering plants. I had fried clams for lunch there and they were wonderful! We drove over to Rockport to see "Waxing Well: Encaustic Painting", an exhibition of work by artist's Lynda Cole, Chris McCauley and Mari Marks Fleming but the gallery was closed. Still, it was a nice respite from the bustle of the conference.

Below are pictures from the two after conference workshops I attended. Tuesday was Critical Feedback with Joanne Mattera and Shawn Hill. It was an intensive day with every one there eager to get critical dialog about their work. The criticism was constructive and considered and well worth our time. I only got images after it was all over when we were all packing up to leave for the day. Below is Karen Freedman packing up her painting. Karen had work in the "On the Edge" exhibition.


This is Nancy Natale packing up.

Below is George Mason who instructed the workshop "Painting with Stencils" that I attended on Wednesday.
There is much more commentary to follow, mostly about the conference sessions that I attended. These will be posted later on the texaswaxhouston blog.