I have been an artist my whole life, because art to me is like playing and I love to play. Art, like playing, is taking risks, letting my imagination run free, getting outside my comfort zone, learning new things and having fun. My artistic creations come from my need to explore my dreams and experiment with new imagery. Sometimes, when I can get out of my own way, some very surprising things happen. Some of my best ideas come from discarded objects. I think how would these things fit together with other things to make my collage/assemblage art.

Years ago I saw the Ramses exhibit. Seeing the ancient artists and the objects they created impressed upon me the human races’ need to express ourselves and let others glimpse our souls through art. We can look at what has survived and glimpse into an ancient time and connect with people who lived 3000 years ago.

I was introduced to encaustic wax several years ago. Beeswax is heated and pigment added to create multidimensional works of art. Part of what I find intriguing about encaustic wax is how they used it in ancient times. The war ships in ancient Greece were sealed with beeswax and then painted with encaustic wax (the blood red markings must have had an awe-inspiring effect on the people of Troy). The Fayum mummy portraits have survived since 200 B.C. the colors and details remain extraordinary.

I love encaustic wax for reasons not entirely definable. To me the medium is mysterious. Layers can be built upon layers and the transparency of some pigments let us look through to what lies partially hidden beneath. It can be molded, carved, heated, pushed, scraped, layered, and collaged into. I manipulate the wax and colors with specific results in mind, but ultimately the encaustic takes its own course and the results are always surprising.

Encaustic is ancient yet modern. What I desire is not unlike what others have desired through the ages. I want to create something that will withstand the eons of time and create art that will tell my story and connect with others when I am dust. My art is my joy, my pain, my point of view. It is pieces of my dreams, my life and I love to share it. I hope it gives pleasure.

Judy Abigail Vars

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