Saturday, August 27, 2011

Mary Wright Encaustic Exhibit and Demo, a photo by Sultry on Flickr.

Mary Wright Encaustic Exhibit and Demo by Sultry
I attended an opening and demo by Mary Wright at the encaustic center in Richardson this evening. Meaning NO OFFENSE to any of the other featured artists, I feel I connected most with her and her work. Most were semi-representational, but all were also capable of handling multiple interpretations and projections.
She acknowledged that trees were important symbols to her - representing stability and strength. Turns out her dad was a "woodsman." I don't know that she had made the connection before.
There were lots of great pieces, but the tree above really rooted me to the floor!



http://www.theencausticcenter.com/exhibitions.html

She demonstrated how to do graphite (pencil) transfers, using her adorable grandbaby as the example. Don't be surprised if you see me attempting to do the same.






You can see more of her works at her website: http://www.marywright.org/encaustic-paintings.html





She was remarkably generous (and clear) with her tips, tricks and methods. She gets credit in my mind for figuring out how to use contact paper as a stencil. Of course the depth of patience she displayed to design, cut, stick, wax and then peel the stencils was pretty outstanding, too!



I have a number of images of my paintings, of sheep, and Texana that I can hardly wait to print and sandwich!








Last but not least, the others in attendance made it a great evening. In the center his Mr. Wright, who makes Ms. Wright's cradled supports. Seated with the blond curls is their son who plays French Horn and attended NTSU. To the left is a fascinating gentleman who was dragged there (he claimed) by his wife. He and I ended up chatting about his career (logistics and civil engineering for the oil business after he left military service), logic (we agreed that we didn't know many politicians who seemed to know logic!) as well as the difference between men and women, artists and salesmen. Great fun!

1 comment:

Mary Wright said...

Hi, Dana. What a surprise; thank you for the kind words! Yes, and you are correct... I had not totally put it together about the 'wood' connection. My father was a farmer/logger in WI and he taught us much about the importance of honesty and strength. Many of the frames are made with the wood that my dad used in building his house in northern WI. My pieces have a special meaning to them because they contain the wood. Dad passed away several years ago.
I sure enjoyed meeting everyone and sharing some secrets!