Today, we’re chatting
with our 2014 Sneak Preview Exhibit Chair, Manuela. In addition to organizing our Sneak Preview exhibit opening
August 6th at the Washington County Museum, Manuela is president of
the International Encaustic Artists, PDX Chapter as well as a member
of the Three Rivers Art Guild and Oregon Society of Artists.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit down as we chat
with Manuela about her art journey.
Manuela, How did you get
interesting in art?
I was born interested in art, in Covilha,
Central Portugal. I moved to Lisbon, the capital and Cultural Center when I was
9 years old. I started drawing objects
at the age of 2, my Mother tells me. My paternal Grandmother was an oil Painter
however, she died right after I was born when I was 3 months old. I remember
looking at her paintings as I grew up and feeling so proud of her! I always
wished I'd had the opportunity to get to know her and talk with her about art
and share what she felt as she worked. I guess there is truth to us inheriting
certain genes or tendencies that predicate the path we chose in life. I am
grateful to her for having given birth to my father even though she might have
perished doing it, and to my father and mother in turn giving life to me. My
surroundings, I believe influenced me in becoming and artists by being brought
up around doctors and philosophers, being allowed not only to listen in on
their dissertations but actually ask questions and make my own observations
regarding the conversation topics. This along with my fascination with all
images around me, and always trying to figure out the lines; visible and
abstract, that gave life to the actual figure as lines intercepted each other
at different points.
I studied Art – combination of Painting, Sculpture, Life Drawing, Anatomy,
Art History, and Spatial Geometry at the Superior Academy of Fine Arts, and
graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
I later moved to the United States and once here I started working with
Photography, Digital Photography and Applied Arts.
Why do you love what you do? What
is your inspiration?
My “obsession”, has been the idea to spot what really isn’t visible to the
naked eye and translate it to my artwork via my muses. My “Muses” come from
different origins they might be based on people who raised me and helped me
become who I am, or myself – the different facets of being- or it could be a
“pebble” on the ground during the morning walk that made me think of something
I didn’t see right way, or that made think of a possibility I had not
considered before or that maybe helped me shed light into a personal
journey.
*My “human muses” symbolize the different aspects of one’s personality, for
example: the loving person within, the dancer passionately flowing on the dance
floor, the sensuous woman within, the little prankster, the shy observer, etc.
They all emerge from within the spirit and make themselves visible and known as
they feel ready to. Others are the helpers that appear to prepare me and
introduce the “human muses” to me. It is a self- emerging process that I must
experience and allow to be experienced by others in order to become a fully
realized being.
Why you love what you do?
Encaustic truly encompasses all of my senses simultaneously as I work. The
scent of the wax and resin in the Studio as it melts in the warming pot, the
sounds generated as they melt and become Medium. The sensuality and feel of the
Medium as my hands touch it as I carve. The pliability, challenge and creative
journey the Medium allows me to experience as I pour, layer, fuse, scrape and
carve over and over until the desired image emerges.
What’s you favorite part of the
process?
My favorite part of this process is the layering and carving of the Medium.
I love getting my hands in it and feel it come to "life"!
Do you use a weird or different
technique?
I use "Thread" which I previously prepare with Medium, in
contouring certain areas of an image to enhance that area or give it fluidity
and movement. I also use "Tape", Poured Medium and Twigs in the same
way to accentuate specific aspects of my design. This method or process is
usually complimented by the use of colored pigments which are fused in with the
original surface painting to create depth and bring attention to certain
elements.
What people will see at your
studio?
As people visit my Studio they can expect to have a "sensory
experience". They will have the opportunity to observe layering and fusing
with both a torch as well as a heat gun, pigments, image transfer and imbedding
as well as carving. I will be working on my "Muse" series, so they
might be able to witness how I use thread and poured Medium to enhance image
contouring as well.
To see more of Manuela’s
work, visit her website at ManuelaKalenstianz.com
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