The Last Bloom

Anne Feller

IEA Board Award

Through layered self-portraits a moment of temporary existence is captured and encased in wax as a means of stillness and preservation. A shadowed form of a blooming agave is situated in the background. The blooming marks the final stages of the plant's lifecycle. As the agave sits adjacent to the selfportrait, the plant mirrors my own concerns of time, while acknowledging the sense of beauty in the face of mortality.

You can view Anne’s work at www.annefellerart.com www.instagram.com/anne.feller

The Last Bloom (And the First and Last Time I'll Look Like This), Encaustic, pen and paper, 11 x 11 in

Wax and Wildflowers

2023 IEA Juried Exhibition in San Antonio, TX

In 1927, an international call went out to artists everywhere from the San Antonio Art League, challenging them to celebrate Texas wildflowers. It was a competition for the history books, sponsored by oilman Edgar B. Davis, who ofered prize money that was unheard of in that era. The winner was English artist Dawson Dawson-Watson, who had studied with Monet.

In 2023, an international call went out to artists everywhere from IEA and the San Antonio Art League, once again challenging them to celebrate wildflowers in any way they chose as long as their work was wax-based. Forty pieces were chosen by the Jurors, Drs. William and Linda Reaves, gallerists, and experts on the Davis Collection. You can view the Exhibition Catalog at issuu.com/ internationalencausticartists/docs/ waxwildflowerscatalogfin.

The San Antonio Art League & Museum is a lovely Victorian building in the King William Historic Arts District. Among the 100 guests for the Exhibition opening were IEA Board Members

S. Kay Burnett, Rhonda Raulston, and Lyn Belisle. At the Preview Party, the jurors spoke about the magnificent surface efect and the imaginative interpretations of the theme, noting that choosing award winners was incredibly difcult.