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Lorraine Glessner
Encaustic
New Paintings
One Thousand Waterfalls
2017
encaustic, collage, mixed media on branded wood
48x60x1.5
Spying on the Sun
2015
encaustic, mixed media on silk on wood
36x36x1.5
Experience is never limited and it is never complete; it is an immense sensibility, a kind of huge spiderweb of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness and catching every airborne particle in its tissue. -Henry James
I am drawn to loss, the void within an abandoned area or individual. The void is at once vacant, yet heavy; dark, yet hopeful; lifeless, yet highly charged; silent and yet resonant with the voices of the past. The hushed energy of the void surrounded by what remains, simultaneously puts into context the past, present and future. The existence of ruins or remnants-whether born through violence, vulnerability or time, provide an arena for growth, restoration and a unique perspective of historical change.
What remains after loss is residue, scraps-items that collect in the corners of our living spaces and psyche-memories that serve as surrogates to the past. In combination with paint, I use materials such as wood, paper, textiles and human hair combined in layers with processes such as encaustic, stitch, collage, scorching, rust and plant staining to reflect on the intimacy of memory, the awareness of mortality and spiritual growth through loss.
Using landscape as inspiration, connection and metaphor, my interest is in the exploration of human interaction and psyche-the navigation of the line between what is hidden and revealed to others. Real and imagined stories exploring inner demons, desires and vulnerabilities of the human mind fuel my work. The consequence of revealing what is hidden can be both a dream and a nightmare, causing a chain reaction gamut of emotions ranging from anguish to exhilaration. The amalgamation of these intense emotions and the simultaneous existence of danger and seduction within the earth and the body is what I investigate through my work.
Encaustic Paintings
Recent paintings involve the process of digitally layering satellite image captures of abandoned manufacturing, amusement and housing development sites along with my own photographs of abandonment and loss encountered during urban hikes and cemetery explorations. These digital studies are translated into paintings beginning with a dense under-painting of organic forms consisting of swirling clumps of lines referencing roots and veins-the underlying channels integral to life. This framework serves as an infrastructure for subsequent layers of encaustic paint, fabric and human hair. Collaged fragments of found images act as another form of paint as well as trigger memory and create personal connections. Through the mark-making and painting process, the actual storied histories of the combined images is interwoven with my own personal experiences and imaginings about their history. As the painted and collaged layers accumulate, patterns begin to fuse, splinter and regenerate, acting as a metaphor for the volatility and vulnerability found in the relationships between earth and humankind and between humans themselves.
Found Wood
The found wood series begins with discarded wood taken from dumpsters, trash piles and abandoned buildings. The wood itself exhibits distressed markings-evidence of the human hand through use, age or environment. I respond to these markings with repetitive patterns utilizing the process of branding with tools and scorching with an open flame. To me, fire represents the complete cycle of life-it breaths, eats, grows and dies. While it can be extremely destructive, fire can actually create life through this destruction by it’s cleansing of the land. Completing the connection to life, I utilize my own hair, which is ironed, strand-by-strand and transformed into lines placed side by side, crisscrossed into grids and finally embedded in wax. As they trace the form of the wood, these gridded drawings create connections between landscape, architecture and the body as well as the history of the object. Through this repetitive process, I reflect on time, the tenuous nature of life and human relationships, as well as my own mortality.
Sewn Drawings
The constructed and sewn drawings begin with discarded materials collected from city streets, abandoned homes and lots, paper from recycling bins as well as the scraps and remains generated from my own studio practice. The act of stitching these materials together gives each piece its structure as well as its life. My great grandmother was a professional seamstress and taught me to sew and embroider at an early age; needle and thread became expressive tools for me even before crayons. There is safety in the repetitive process of stitching, of knowing what comes next and I am able to communicate thoughts that cannot be spoken, to mend mistakes, and to momentarily fill the void created through personal loss. Drawing with a sewn line adds tactility, dimension and depth to the surfaces of these disparate materials as well as creates personal connections related to the body, intimate spaces and home.
The Sentient Magnolia & The Great Salt Lake 2
2015
encaustic, collage, mixed media on wood
30x40x1.
Encaustic
Recent Paintings
Sun Storm *SOLD*
2013
encaustic, mixed media on branded silk on wood
48x48x1.5 diptych
Rain *SOLD*
2013
encaustic, mixed media on branded silk on wood
60x30x1.5 diptych
The Crying Chandlier
2012
encaustic, mixed media on branded silk on wood
36x36x1.5
Angels Without Wings *SOLD*
2012
encaustic, mixed media on branded silk on wood
40x24x1.5
Under the Pink *SOLD*
2013
encaustic, mixed media on branded silk on wood
36x48x1.5 diptych
Soon, Soon, we will dance on the moon 1
2012
encaustic, mixed media on branded silk on wood
24x24x1.5
Door
2010
encaustic, mixed media on branded silk on wood
18x18x1
Small Paintings
Lonestar Superhero
2016
encaustic, collage, mixed media on wood
6x6x1.5
Impossible Unicorn
2016
encaustic, collage, mixed media on wood
8x8x1.5
Even Flowers Can Cry
2016
encaustic, collage, mixed media on wood
6x6x1
Acrylic Paintings
Spill
2016
acrylic, collage, diamond dust on plexiglass
12x12x1
Pouffe
2016
acrylic, collage, diamond dust on plexiglass
12x12x1
Sanguine
2016
acrylic, collage, diamond dust on plexiglass
12x12x1
2016
acrylic, collage, diamond dust on plexiglass
12x12x1
Flame Drip
2016
acrylic, collage, diamond dust on plexiglass
12x12x1
Drip
2016
acrylic, collage on plexiglass
12x12x1
Bitten
2016
acrylic, collage, diamond dust on plexiglass
12x12x1
