Studio Cire

ABOUT

Art inspires because it creates the opportunity for collaborative meaning. As an artist, I am inspired daily by what life presents in the way of color, beauty and design. I try to take that life connection and pour it into my encaustic work. Encaustic art allows for individual connection and interpretation through its abstract forms, multiple layers, and uncommon textures. I am always excited to see what the heat on the wax will do, and what the oil paint combined with the textured wax will reveal. It is that incredible tingling moment all artists know: when the art becomes distinctively alive. My objectives are straightforward and simple. I desire to take one of the most challenging of ancient art forms and create compelling contemporary works of art.

Encaustic art has been with us since the time of the Pharaohs, and survives today. Ancient Egyptian headstones made of encaustic on wood panels are on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. Hardened wax combined with oil paint, if properly cared for, has more durability and longevity than any other type of painted surface. It is an enduring art form yet not many contemporary artists pursue encaustic art because it is difficult and challenging. I am inspired by the fact that Jasper Johns' encaustic works hang in the Modern Wing of the Art Institute and the famed art gallery at Yale. It is an unwavering art form worth learning and loving.
 

A creative life is what has most shaped me as an artist, combined with my other achievements - in writing, in law, in poetry, in global health philanthropy, in painting - in short, in living with an artist's eye for design, color, form and meaning. Perhaps that life view is also hereditary. My grandfather was an oil painter. My first exposure to encaustic art, however, came years ago by my then teenage son (now a successful award-winning architect) who brought encaustics home one day, determined to teach himself. Over time, I became fascinated with the process and determined to learn as much as I could myself.

An artist never stops learning. I have found that encaustic painting requires a mastery of technique using heat, wax and oil paint in rich combination, as well as the ability to constantly innovate. As founder of Studio Cire in Chicago in 2014, I started this artistic journey over ten years ago, first creating first small works of art and growing into large wood cradle canvas work as my skill set evolved. As this form of art is dramatic and nuanced in wax layers, large canvas work (between 48” by 60” and larger) is preferred and shown best on large walls with strong lighting to capture both color and layered texture. This form and size are ideal for public art display.