{tac}

Sarah Grew — encaustic, mixed media

The Arts Center Exhibitions:

• 'Portals,' Winter Show & Silent Auction, 2011

Artist's Statement, 'Once in a dream...' - 'Portals,' Winter Show & Silent Auction, 2011:

My process of creation is layered: Layers of chance in searching out and collecting images, natural and found materials; layers of color and pattern laid down in seeds, and oil paint; layers of wax with objects and photographs embedded into them. By placing found objects within the context of painting, I re-invent and re-interpret time and place as I create new meaning. Many of the objects, images, and the environments that interest me mark the boundary between being so common that they are forgotten and being iconic relics of the past. My work thus shifts our focus back and forth from the everyday to an unknown history, in a coalescence of time, place, and chance re-contextualized into a whole.

For a number of years encaustic paint has played a central role in my art. On the one hand, wax is a sealant and preservative, stopping the flow of change through time. On the other, it literally and metaphorically clouds our vision, limiting our perception and altering our understanding of time passing. Among the innovations encaustic has allowed me to develop is a unique process of embedding photographs, while one of the challenges of using wax as a structural form is that it introduces an unpredictable element that remains always on the edge of control. Although wax has been used in painting for 2000 years, I cannot predict precisely how the wax will solidify. This constant play of chance is another layer in the serendipity of finding the objects and images I use.

Biography

Sarah Grew has been creating work involving collage, installation, painting, photography and eco or environmental art for over a decade. In search of new materials she has become a beekeeper, studied native plant habitats, and worked as an Artist-in-Residence for a recycling facility.  She has also taught and collaborated on a number of public art projects for schools and worked in the paintings conservation laboratory at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Ms. Grew has traveled widely through Europe, South-east Asia, and parts of Mexico to expand her cultural awareness and enrich her work. Currently she lives in Eugene, Oregon and gathers objects in her own backyard.

Visit Sarah Grew's website.