September 22nd, 2008

Shawna Moore, Montana artist

The soothing scent of beeswax is floating through the gallery and a new abstract artist’s work hangs on our walls. Welcome to encaustic artist Shawna Moore, Gallery MAR’s newest artist. An ancient art, which is believed to have been originally used in Ancient Egyptian tombs, encaustic utilizes beeswax mixed with resins and varnishes in layered effects on board or canvas. Moore paints up to 20 or even 30 layers on her boards. The wax is heated, planed and scratched, and reworked to create intriguing depth.

She is currently exploring the idea of “line”– what makes a mark, and how that is related to the past and our landscape. For Moore, making art is a quest to make sense of the world, both materially and conceptually, though the observance of nature, line, and color, and how they entwine with the flow of thought and creativity. View more of Shawna Moore’s artwork.