ARTIST STATEMENT
I am drawn to creating with encaustic for its versatility. It has magical abilities; being translucent, activated by heat, it can be cast, and can adhere to any surface while being able to embed things into it. It’s a very process-driven medium, like cooking but better. Color is a driving force behind my work. Bright colors require different kinds of evocative thought. Fluorescents pop and illuminate light, enlivening the forms. I am pushing the limits of the materials I use to give an identity to my constructions.
Conventional in shape, these sculptures are encased in an unconventional skin that tells a story. Colors from memories are layered, rolled and sliced, then applied to encaustic shapes. Each angle of the sculpture is a multi-patterned jumble that represents a life of many experiences. Paradoxid in size, the suggested scale of this work is heroic, yet the sculpture can be held in one hand. The organic forms of these works is anthropomorphic.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
I have always been an artist. I always made things, either of my own imagination or from inspiration of the work of others. I delight in “process”, which attracted me to sculpture, encaustic painting and assemblage. At first I regarded art as a thing to make. Now, after living through a few of life’s challenges, I see art as a physical manifestation of my outlook and experiences.
I received a BA from Brandeis University in art in 1975. I then spent a year learning how to draw and think like an artist at the New York Studio School. In 1979 I received my MFA in sculpture from City University of New York, Queens College. I learned graphic design at the California College of Arts and Crafts and continued to create art while running my own graphic design studio for nearly 30 years. My understanding of graphic design has become an important part of my artistic process.
I live in Cheshire Connecticut with my husband David and my dog Casey.
© Ruth Sack