WaxWorks
who|what|where
Mary Beth Whitley
Photographer/Encaustic Artist
Dayton Society of Artists
48 High Street/Dayton, OH/45403
mbwhitleyartworks@gmail.com
My Process
My iPhone is my camera. The images are made into digital c-prints and attached to cradled Encausticbords. Refined beeswax and pan pastels are applied to the photograph to create the finished artwork.
My Work
My artistic process combines the immediacy of a snapshot with natural beeswax. I create visual experiences which prompt the viewer to look more closely at their surroundings.
Attention is brought to ordinary landscapes and objects found in nature that often go unnoticed or unseen due to our busy schedule. I am particularly interested in capturing the passage of time and/or movement in my work. Comparisons are drawn between the life cycle of nature with that of our own.
Our existence is intimately linked to the natural world surrounding us. Through the use of color and light, I create work that reflects the beauty of nature and of our interconnection with it.
My Bio
I was born and raised in southern Ohio on a winding dirt road located on Tick Ridge. My childhood home was surrounded by farmland, seven acres of woods and the Little Scioto River. Unrestricted hours exploring the woods and fields formed my artistic values and aesthetics. When I was six years old, my father gave me an Argus C3 camera. He told me I could become anything I wanted to be - rare and empowering words for a young girl to be told in the 60s. His belief in me and our shared love of the outdoors both informs my work and compels me to connect nature with our humanity.
