THE ENSO CIRCLE
an invitational online artists’ residency created and let by michelle belto and lyn belisle
CATALOGUE OF RESIDENTS’ FINAL EXHIBITION MAY 2021
Copyright © 2021 by Lyn Belisle and Michelle Belto for The Enso Circle. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher and the artists whose works are included except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America First Printing, 2021 The Enso Circle An invitational online Artists’ Residency Created and led by Michelle Belto and Lyn Belisle theensocircle.com
The Enso circle symbolizes many things: the beauty in imperfection, the art of letting go of expectations, the circle of life, and connection-- the imperfections and contours are exactly what makes the Enso beautiful.
INTRODUCTION: THE ENSO CIRCLE
I reread some of the early communications between Lyn and I from 2015 when we first began planning what would later become The Enso Circle. Back then, I was doing a lot of teaching on the road and Lyn had created a thriving art center. The original impetus, I think, came from wanting to continue and expand our collaborative teaching experiences into something more enduring. We continued to throw around ideas for the next couple of years, while life took us in other directions. The proverbial window opened when Covid forced us all into quarantine. Separated and isolated in our studios across town from one another, we had time and energy to design a focused experience based on connections-creative, collaborative and community—the opportunity we wanted for ourselves. The Enso Circle Artists Residency was born. This first term has been more than we could have envisioned in no small part to the arrival of virtual technology and the need of many artists wanting to find alternate ways to connect with one another. The power of this creative community, however, springs from the generosity, enthusiasm and bonding that happened among the residents in the Circle over the last three months. Thanks to each of these amazing artists for allowing Lyn and I to be a part of their life and their creative process. The stunning work in this catalogue speaks to the professional and artistic growth of each participant, whom we now call colleagues and friends. Michelle Belto May 25, 2021
This catalog is tangible proof that “what if ” can become a reality. Each of the Resident artists whose authentic, eclectic work graces these pages answered a call for concept that had not been tried before – a virtual Art Residency based on a written application and specific goals. The Enso Circle is not an art workshop or social media group, although it has components of each of those. It is an invitational Art Residency, a dedicated threemonth time period in which artists join a community of creators for a specific selfchosen goal that is unique to them. The online residency provides the comprehensive artistic support that they need to focus and strengthen their work. Artists who apply are ready to focus on a conceptual goal in their studio practice. It could be a social theme, an exploration of media, a series of work that analyzes personal struggles or celebrates overcoming difficulty. When Michelle and I opened up this idea online to the arts community in February of 2021, we had no idea how that community would respond. We just knew that The Enso Circle was something we would want at this stage in our creative careers. Much to our delight, we had over twice as many applicants as we cold accommodate. We chose the twelve you see here based on a combination of factors, but any one of the applicants would have been a great choice. Since the first day, the Residents have shown respect, support, humor, and encouragement to others in the Circle. We’ve borrowed ideas from each other and made virtual visits to each other’s studios. I am incredibly grateful to these twelve First Residents who made The Enso Circle a reality, now and in the future. Lyn Belisle May 25, 2021
CATALOG OF FINAL WORKS BY ENSO CIRCLE RESIDENTS
FLO BARTELL GAIL BYRNES SUE CONNER JOANNE DESMOND KATHERINE DYER NANETTE FREEMAN VIRGINIA MASERANG HARLEEN OSBURN LINDA RAEL BRITA REKVE HEATHER TINKHAM ROSA INES VERA *LYN BELISLE *MICHELLE BELTO
CALIFORNIA MASSACHUSETTS CALIFORNIA MAINE MINNESOTA ILLINOIS TEXAS CALIFORNIA TEXAS ARKANSAS MINNESOTA MARYLAND TEXAS TEXAS *FOUNDERS
ABOUT THE ARTIST
FLO BARTELL I grew up in a small South Carolina town under the strong influence of my family of teachers, artists, and musicians. My childhood was spent romping outdoors, making from found objects anything my imagination allowed, sewing, and studying art, music, and dance. Though my drive to create persisted, I devoted many years to a career in education and mental health. When I decided to follow my lifelong passion for the arts, I established a needlework business, designed, taught, wrote, and studied art and music again. My designs, award winning paintings, sculptures, and essays have appeared in print and digital publications and in solo and group exhibitions. I have led mental health and art organizations, and l continue to study and make art and teach encaustic painting and sculpture. I am represented by Art Central Gallery in San Luis Obispo, California.
ABOUT THE WORK
I escape to my studio to savor the fragrance of wax, the rhythm of my torch, and the texture and rich colors possible with the ancient medium of encaustic. I enjoy combining wax with fiber and found material to build texture, add detail, and enhance my art making experience. I lose myself in the process of creating and feel satisfaction in excavating and preserving the scars and stories my art reveals. In response to a need to create smaller, more manageable art pieces, my own need to heal, and the COVID 19 pandemic, this intimate series of sculptural work examines how we heal as individuals and as a community. I employed historical and familial symbols that remind me to be open to the wisdom of others, honor those who have helped me, and how to look for and depend upon my own strength in the healing process. I have found satisfaction, direction, and energy in exploring this theme and in using the new tools, materials, and techniques the work required. “Hester”, goddess of house and home. She represents the importance of family and home in adversity. I used wax, wire, fiber, corrugated cardboard, ink, a picture frame, paper, and assorted found material to bring her to life. “Iloo”, music muse. With a collection of violin parts, old violin scores, wire, paint, ink, found material, and a face I sculpted in wax, I accepted the challenge of assembling all those pieces into a reminder that music can be healing for the performer as well as the audience in the face of a pandemic or personal injury and illness. “Sage”, a mentor, appears to have traveled far and collected knowledge and wisdom she will share to help us heal. She is created with wire, plaster, wax, fabric, and found objects.
Counter-clockwise from top left: “Iloo”, 29” x 9” x 4” “Sage” 16”x 6” x 4” “Hester” 20” x 12” x 4”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
GAIL BYRNES I grew up in rural Massachusetts and spent much of my childhood roaming and playing in the woods. I moved to the Boston area in the early seventies, and eventually worked as a software engineer and then a quality assurance manager. I attended Boston University where I received my BS in Computer Science and an MBA from Simmons College. In 1992 I was introduced to shamanism and embarked upon a fifteen-year journey working with and apprenticing with shamans in several different traditions. What drew me to this path was a realization that we are all connected; people, animals who walk, swim, and fly; plants and trees, earth and sky. Spirit moves freely through us all, unless it is blocked by some force. In 1995 I went back to school to study acupuncture because I was drawn to the power of the healing it can provide as well as understanding the blockages that can occur. I continue to practice acupuncture, sound healing, and shamanism part time, and do art as often as I can. Woven throughout my life has been a love of art and the creative process. As I child I drew constantly. As a teen when my family moved to a partially furnished house that contained an old treadle sewing machine, I taught myself to sew. As a young adult, I started to explore painting, fiber arts, and working with clay. More recently, I worked with photography, collage and mixed media. Then I discovered Spirit Dolls. Using sticks, driftwood, clay, found items from nature, old jewelry, paint and fabric, my spirit dolls are born. To me, these are an expression of my soul. I create because I must.
ABOUT THE WORK
For this Enso Circle I decided as my goal, to make Spirit Dolls that represent the primary chakras. Gaia. The first to be born was the root chakra doll, who represents the earth element. Gaia is sitting, representing her physical connection to Mother Earth. Her colors are mostly red, the traditional color of the first or root chakra. She says that she is very stable and old - as old as the earth herself. The first chakra represents our manifestation into physical form, and is the most dense of the chakras. Rain Dancer. The second or sacral chakra was the second doll to be created and represents the water element and is less dense than the root chakra. Water is about movement, and the fluidity of our emotions. The traditional color for the second chakra is orange, but I felt that Rain Dancer also needed blue for water. I hand painted the fabric for her clothes and designed her to show movement. She says that she loves to express her feelings and also loves dancing. Brigit. The third doll to be created was for the third or solar plexus chakra. This is the fire element and represents our source of personal power in the world. Brigit has a cone as a base, giving her great stability. The cone shape also represents the eternal flame, moving upward. Her colors are of fire - yellow and orange. She has jewels at her solar plexus and she is a force not to be messed with! She says she is strong and powerful.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
SUE CONNER I have discovered, with recent and thoughtful consideration, that to attain and maintain balance, rather than achieve perfection, is essential in my life’s journey. Therefore, it follows that the idea of balance informs my creative practice. I now think more purposely about the process – deriving more value from the lessons learned than from the final product itself. I retired from teaching high school visual arts in spring 2014. Although I had experienced creating with myriad art media and processes, I was mostly inspired by the endless possibilities that come when working in mixed media. Later that year, I was introduced to the world of encaustic painting and instantly found the medium’s rich colors, sculptural qualities, and remarkable textures intriguing and full of opportunities. I continue to experiment with ways to create textures, embed found objects, incorporate images, and integrate paper, where the wax becomes the unifying factor.
Right: Details of the work
ABOUT THE WORK
I was blessed to have grown up in a family that loved adventure and travel – instilling in me a wonder and appreciation for our Mother Earth. These rich experiences inspired me to explore the overarching theme “Nature’s Poetry” in which “Trees” became the focus for a recently completed body of work. I continue to be fascinated by these complex natural forms and as a result, for the Enso Circle Residency, chose to explore more deeply the beauty and grace of just one type – the eucalyptus, more specifically taking a closer look, at the leaves themselves. It did not take long to discover the exquisite shades of gold-orange, deep magenta, and moss green – my color palette was chosen! Next, I challenged myself to step outside my comfort zone in technique and style. I wanted to work larger – four times the size of my usual 9x12 “canvas”, as well as experiment with the monotype process. Considering different ways to construct as well as present the final pieces has become a critical part of the process. Finally, I wanted to push myself to create work that is more meaningful and personal. After experiencing significant loss of loved ones this past year, I am mindful of my own mortality and believe that life holds no guarantees. Although many aspects of life can be controlled, others cannot – reinforcing the notion that every day is a gift. With the idea of “letting go” and being more “in the moment”, “Surrender” has emerged as the central theme for this new body of work. The downward, graceful, organic lines and shapes of the leaves, for me, are the perfect means to communicate this intent.
Whisper of What’s to Become 2021 Encaustic Monotype, Paper, Found Objects 18x23 $175
New Beginnings 2021 Encaustic Monotype, Paper, Found Objects 23x29 $200
Letting Go 2021 Encaustic Monotype, Paper, Found Objects 23x36 $225
ABOUT THE ARTIST
JOANNE DESMOND
The long and winding road that leads to your door Will never disappear, I’ve seen that road before It always leads me here - Lead me to your door The Beatles And such has been my relationship to art and being an artist – a meandering pathway of fits and starts to my embracing my role as an artist. Art influenced me at an early age beginning with my great aunt teaching the fine art of stitching and reading fairy tales illustrated by Arthur Rackham to being drawn to calligraphy as an elementary school student, desiring to pursue art in college though it was frowned upon as not being a viable source of income by my parents. After one year of college, I quit and made my way to the medical field becoming a certified cardiac tech. However, the longing of not completing my degree was always in my heart. At the age of forty I returned to school to pursue my undergrad degree in Art from the University of MA/Boston, concentrating in printmaking and photography. I was bitten by the lifelong learning bug compelling me onward to obtain an M.Ed., in Arts & Learning from Endicott College, a CAGS in Expressive Arts from Salve Regina University, and an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art & Design. During my artistic evolution, my work has shifted from the traditional use of media into an exploration of materials and how they can be combined and further developed. My work is now primarily mixed media, which sometimes takes on a sculptural form.
ABOUT THE WORK
I live in Berwick, Maine where I have a studio in my home. I am a member of the Monoprint Guild of NE, The Boston Printmakers, Zea Mays Printmaking Studio, and Unbound Visual Arts – Boston. I am working on my visual poem; an elegy of sorts. A longing for some of what was and for what I wish could have been. In the therapeutic world, some say trauma is passed down from generation to generation. The gift that keeps on giving as it were. What then is the truth? My work explores the frailty and elusiveness of memory; family relationships, the passing of generations, how these things affect identity, belonging, finding home. Some explanation about the symbols and the concept in those pieces I have worked on: The subliminal layer is about family and memory - memories are elusive and can often be faulty in a sense though they seem to be so clear and truthful to the person who holds them (the person is me in the series) and I associate symbols to various people in my childhood. The chair is my father, the child’s dress is me, the hibiscus leaves are my mother, the crow is something I am working out. I had always thought it referred to my father, but now I am seriously considering that it may refer to the “memory/ies” and the veracity or illusions wrapped around these memories. The child’s table and chair reference my experience with being forced to eat as a young child. In a nutshell, the subtext of these images is psychological and run deep. I am realizing that as I expand on this series, it is time to bring other family members into the fold and now I am thinking of symbols that I can use to depict these important figures. When photographing the printed ghost images another page was beneath it and I am loving how when one is overlaid on another the faultiness of memory may be apparent. I am also reminded of dreamlike states, when we awake, and there are fragments of our dreams lingering in our minds - some clear and some like wisps of smoke or clouds - lending a ghost quality behind the image I have added a cardinal – messages from a loved one who has passed? I am trying to figure out how to expand on this - I see it as a book and wonder how I can construct these pages as such? These images are printed on Chinese calligraphy paper, which is thin. I wonder if I should do some cutting and reconstruction, adhering the imagery to heavier paper using chine collé, onto heavier paper that is designed in some book format (accordion)?
Clockwise from top left: Page Three Page Seven Page Six Page Nine
ABOUT THE ARTIST
KATHERINE DYER Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak. -Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati I, Katherine fully confess to being a self-taught artist, exploring through decades of time. Often with a cache of too many art supplies that often overrun my space. I am curious and always on the path to discovery, often pulling together the company of friends and sharing what I have learned. I’m a messy artist, who makes art to have fun, to explore the mystery of creation that enfolds. I love color, and the feel of textures between my fingers, and play across different mediums. Making art for me is sacred time. It’s like coming out of daily overdrive. Time stands still. And I lose myself in that ‘Kairos’* moment.
ABOUT THE WORK
*Chronos time is chronological time while Kairos time is vertical time of opportune moments, in which we step-out of the chronological timeline.
As an empath who feels life like an itchy sweater, often taking in “too much”, my art wants to be light in a world that is often not. I consciously choose to focus on light, contrast and whimsy, and the fun of a possible mystery unfolding (like the hidden piece of rose quartz* inserted in each of my pieces). You will find that quartz in Arna of the Woods, a fully needle-felted creature with movable arms and legs. Arna’s body is made of core wool, and her clothes are hand dyed. She carries a bottle of magic in her bag and a basket of daisy’s in her arms. And if you look closely inside the trunk of the tree is one of Arna’s adventures in a hand-bound book of denim and stenciled with leaves from the forest. Whoever you are, and where ever you journey, my wish for you is to know that you are loved. • Rose Quartz is a purifying stone that opens the heart to promote love, friendship, inner peace and most importantly, self-love.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
NANETTE RAE FREEMAN Before becoming a full-time artist, I was a librarian at The Chicago Public Library for 25 years serving children and young adults in neighborhoods throughout Chicago. In addition, I have provided library services to women in the Cook County Jail. I attribute my obsession for working with found materials and making do with what we already have to my childhood spent accompanying my father who owned, operated and repaired pinball machines, jukeboxes and vending machines in bowling alleys, funky rent parties in garages, and taverns throughout Chicago. The people my father served, laughed and talked with were people of color. The very fact that I traveled with him to these places as often as I could made my seemingly normal childhood anything but normal. I lost my husband of 25 years in a violent motorcycle accident and began making art as part of my grieving process. My husband, Fred Dech, would surely be amused to see how I was working with found blown-out tires and now X-rays as a photographic material as it echoed our shared longing for the unusual, which we pursued throughout our lives together.
ABOUT THE WORK
I have discovered that found or repurposed imagery, objects and materials carry powerful associations, nuanced messages and multiple meanings. Of course, in some of the work I create some of the story will be apparent. In others the story will not be evident. Viewers will have the chance to allow their imagination take over in vividly emotional ways. New Rays My desire to develop a body of work around what reality conceals and evades our view led me to looking at the collection of vintage X-rays I had on hand. X-rays pass through human tissue, rendering the bones and tissue beneath visible. I’ve come to realize our bodies have been informed by a lifetime of experiences throughout our childhood, young adulthood and middle age. The work I created shows how our experiences in life have played a role in our understanding and experiencing our bodies. Clockwise from top left: Nanette Rae Freeman Inside A Woman 2021 Encaustic/Photography 5”x12”
Nanette Rae Freeman Inside A Woman’s Hand 2021 Encaustic/Photography 5”x13”
Nanette Rae Freeman Inside the Girl's Spines 8-1/2 x 11
ABOUT THE ARTIST
VIRGINIA HEADLEY MASERANG The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. – Carl Jung. What I love as a painter, I play with – color, texture, marks, and symbols. I paint abstractly and begin each work simply with a few marks and colors to evoke a mood or a thought, and then reacting intuitively, I grow each piece layer upon layer until it speaks of an experience, concept, or mood from my unconscious or memory. I find the “aha” that comes bubbling up delightful and inspiring, and it keeps me coming back for more “play.” My color palette is deeply influenced by my central Texas home – limestone, blue jeans and blue skies, red chili, rusted barbed wire, and spectacular aqua and orange sunrises and sunsets. I choose to work most often in the medium of encaustic. Why wax? – The layers of wax help tell the story through either revealing or obscuring elements in the work. In addition, it can be worked quickly and yet can stay in process and evolve indefinitely. Plus, there’s fire – painting with fire for sure adds to unpredictability and therefore more play. My life’s creative journey led me through a career as a scientist – first in microbiology, then public health. There were lots of words, numbers, logic, and complexity, and I loved using all of that for creative problem-solving. But I always knew another way of looking and experiencing the world – visually, emotionally, intuitively, non-verbally. It was in this intuitive language, not in numbers or words, that I felt the truth of my life. I began painting in 2009, and I have exhibited my work in solo, juried, and group exhibitions throughout central Texas. Retired from my career in public health, I currently live and live-to-paint in Georgetown, Texas.
ABOUT THE WORK
Prior to 2020, I considered myself resilient, and yet by 2021, after the extended isolation and unrelenting powerlessness I felt in the pandemic, I called that resilience into question. I felt the betrayal of that oft-repeated but never true – time heals all wounds. I know from experience that healing is not just “kiss and make it better” and resilience is not just “bouncing back.” What is the nature of strength in the face of loss? I found myself thinking about those who came before me, and I found my reflection in the faces of old, sometimes faded and fuzzy, family photographs. Once I connected to my past, I meditated on my emotional reactions to personal loss, healing, and resilience. I used those emotions to develop a uniquely personal visual language for the themes of “lost”, “healed”, and “resilient”. I chose media with intention: watercolor with additional mixed media as the basis for works on loss for its capacity for soft and tender expression, hesitant, even, just as we would treat ourselves when wounded. As healing does not always bring full function, and scars often remain, I chose acrylic with mixed media for works reflecting the state of being healed because there is a boldness to acrylic paint that feels like getting back to business after grief. To represent my own resilience, I chose encaustic with mixed media because of its capacity to meld and unify all the marks and brushstrokes laid down, to be forever workable and simultaneously complete. Color palettes were chosen to reflect injury and pain, strength and resolution, and transcendence and gratitude. For the residency, I created three series, one each for home, family, and faith. By contemplating the family paths that came before, I found my own resilience was rooted in their determination and reconnection. Their legacy was my “invincible summer.” Au milieu de l’hiver, j’ai découvert en moi un invincible été. — Albert Camus
ABOUT THE ARTIST
HARLEEN OSBURN I am from Northern Minnesota. Memories of snow angles, wood smoke, Jack Frost’s windowpane art, sleigh rides and a snowsuit so thick I could barely bend my knees were part of my winters. The darkness came early, lots of time to draw at the kitchen table! When the snow melted there were wildflowers, swimming, bike rides and nights spent laying on the lawn looking at the stars and our glorious Milky Way. Every now and then we were able to see the magic of the northern lights. I loved living in the woods, collecting “things” and drawing on anything that didn’t move. After my parents died my life changed. I was thirteen and had a younger sister to take care of. Those carefree days were gone, I had to create a future that would keep my sister and I together. A new town, a new school and so much uncertainty. Becoming an artist was not a career path that was encouraged. I loved science, history and English. My relatives thought I should become a secretary – “you will always be able to find a job” – I chose science. And, I continued to draw! Then came “love and marriage and the baby carriage”. And, I continued to draw! When my husband died following a long illness, I started taking my art seriously, for the joy of it and for the healing. I love experimenting with all kinds of art, but my favorite is still drawing. Most of my work is done with pencil or charcoal. My work records a moment in time but represents a myriad of memories and a blurring of time – the model, the mood, the light. Just like the smell of a cinnamon roll takes me back to my grandma’s kitchen and those wonderful rolls coming out of her wood burning stove. The touch of charcoal to paper draws my soul through my hand. I am a record keeper and a recorder of memories and I will continue to draw.
ABOUT THE WORK
My home is filled with art, the walls covered with drawings and paintings. Each represents a cherished memory, a moment in time. My bookcases are filled with well-loved books and photos, the result of decades of gathering. Even though it is a comfortable space I am beginning to feel a need to downsize, to simplify my life – maybe it is the result of growing older. As part of this downsizing, I decided to gift my children and grandchildren with the art that spoke to them. I knew I would miss the pieces, but I had a plan. Each piece was photographed and resized to just a fraction of its original size. Old photo albums were mined for forgotten treasures and books were deconstructed. I found images that nudged me in the direction of things I want to accomplish in the future. I then collaged these elements into new pieces that brought my past into the present and will help steer me into the future.
These 4.5” x 4.5” collages were constructed from a series of charcoal drawings I did of Stephen Kaltenbach’s two large sculptural fountains at the Sacramento Convention Center called “Time to Cast Away Stones”. Kaltenbach poses four questions on his fountains: “Where are we going? What have we wrought? How are we loving? What have we thought?
ABOUT THE ARTIST
LINDA RAEL Since the mid 1990’s, my work has involved figurative pieces. Soft sculpture and clay are the basic ingredients of my figures. They are highly embellished with embroidery, beads and found objects, including natural elements found on walks in the woods. Concepts for my art pieces are drawn from nature and the relationship we humans have with it. This relationship may take form as petroglypths, ancestor figures, shamans, animals and fairies. I find this relationship more important than ever given the environmental challenges we face today. Although the relationship between humans and our environment is a serious subject, I attempt to approach it with humor and whimsy through my figurative work. I have had my work published in several books, as well as these publications: Belle Armoire Somerset Studio Art Doll Quarterly Cloth, Paper, Scissors Quilting Arts Haute Handbags magazine I also show annually at the International Quilt Festivals’ Celebration of the Doll Exhibit as well as numerous invitational shows.
ABOUT THE WORK
“A Tree is a Living Being” 25”x7” This sculpture is a homage to trees; living, breathing, wonders of nature. They house and protect many flora and fauna. Mosses and birds are depicted here. “Tree Goddess” 20x11” Trees are so important to our ecosystem They must be nurtured and protected. This tree goddess does just that...she is the protector. “Roadrunner Love” 17x 19” This sculpture was inspired by a roadrunner in a tree. I did not know these birds could get to the top of an old cottonwood tree... they do not fly well. He has spent morning after morning in the tree calling for a mate.
Clockwise from top right: “Roadrunner Love” 17x19” “A Tree is a Living Being” 25”x7” “Tree Goddess” 20x11”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
BRITA REKVE Creativity and Spirituality are twin sisters I hang with. Knowing one, I know the other. I work from intuition. My studio feels like sanctuary. It invites me to the threshold of mystery. My responsibility is to show up and then get out of the way. If I do this the doors are blown off and I find bliss. My current work are figures sculpted from fabric, found bones, clay, odd objects and sticks. Often the pieces I work on come with a short narrative about some aspect of personality or life. A story may appear first and then I wait for the figure to arrive; or it could be the figure arrives first. When I try to make it happen it simply doesn’t work. I am a collector of things found in nature and of stories I have heard as a therapist, teacher and death midwife. I believe we are all creative souls. We come to the planet this way. Shedding collective conditioning and sending the ego on vacation open the pathways to creativity and freedom. It excites me to guide oh-I-am-not-an-artist believers to the promised land. Prior to the pandemic I taught Intuitive Painting in my studio. I have also enjoyed teaching high school students mosaic. Teaching art therapy as a tool for healing from trauma to women’s collectives in Nicaragua deepened my insight into art as a universal language. It is difficult to describe what happens to me when I create something. My studio is the safest place in the world to me and I feel most alive when I am creating. Walt Whitman said,” I am large. I contain multitudes.” I believe we all contain multitudes and I think it is the reason people often find a part of themselves in my work.
ABOUT THE WORK
The work I created for the Enso Circle Residency focused on bones. Bones have a potent message about the transformative power of what remains when breath and flesh are no longer. They fascinate me. I wanted to construct figures with bones utilizing a self hardening clay as a connecting medium. The figures evolved on their own. Turtle Woman is composed of turtle and deer bones. Her skirt is hand colored monk’s cloth and mud dyed gauze. She is disgusted with the mess humankind has made and believes she may have a positive impact if she walks amongst the two legged ones. Anne Boleyn Sitting On A Rock After The Incident Waiting For God has an armadillo body and a deer-toe neck. She sits on a chunk of Arkansas chert. Her headpiece is an unidentified bone. Her hair is wool. I am uncertain why she showed up and a bit surprised by how few people know who Anne is. The Beleaguered Angel is composed of an unidentified breast bone, the rib from a big horn sheep and a halo of turtle bone. She wears hand colored gauze, pearls and goose feathers. She laments her overwhelming job.
Clockwise from top left: Anne Boleyn Sitting On A Rock After The Incident Waiting For God The Beleaguered Angel Turtle Woman
ABOUT THE ARTIST
HEATHER TINKHAM I use the lure of soft, familiar fiber to draw people closer, to bring out their desire to touch. Color, in all its rich, lush, vibrancy, smooths the journey inward. The gentle sounds of lyric story, heard in the viewer’s own internal voice, adds detail and context to questions raised. Contrasts and twists of perspective surprise and poke at unrecognized assumptions, enticing my visitors close enough to consider my provocations in a way that they may be heard. My art fills the garden of my soul; it is a place of depth, layers, contrasts, and balances. It changes and swells, as any garden does, and plays with the senses, the mind, and our very beings. It calls us to settle for a while, and to simply be. It welcomes us from where we are, and accepts that we will move on. It freely offers gifts of the heart and seeds of presence in the moment. My practices include experimentation, learning, failing, expression, discovery, analysis, and observation. I see life as a balanced system of opposites that sustain growth and evolution rather than any single best solution. That plays out in my work through complex layers and contrasting, interwoven media that reflect our reality. It is also evident in my ongoing research into new media and techniques to more fully express my intentions. I want to challenge the labels we so heavily rely on, focusing on the core essence of issues, and bringing more honesty and authenticity into a world that is increasingly busy and chaotic.
ABOUT THE WORK
Jewels from the Flames: This series weaves together the skills, practices, and insights from my studies during my recent period of isolation during the 2020 personal, community, and societal upheavals. I chose to use this time for gestation of new ideas, reflection on my views, and transformation in my creative voice. The work from this residency represents the unfurling of new directions and processes in my work, expressing my vision in richer and more personal ways that integrate so many wonderful new techniques and styles. Next page, clockwise from left:
“Celée: That’s a great question!” 2021, 28” Figurative Fiber Sculpture NFS “Laynie was so excited to share hugs again” 2021, 11” Figurative Fiber Sculpture $225 “Ms. Sassy Raggedy Pants: Living Out Loud” 2021, 12” Figurative Fiber Sculpture $225
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ROSA VERA After spending my working life in economics and international finance, I have been fortunate to find my passion in art. I grew up in Washington, D.C. and in Latin America. For me art is an expression of that past: of being taken from country to country as a child, being bicultural and bilingual, and adjusting to different environments. But it is also an expression of the present as I now live between Peru and the States, two different cultures. I convey this experience through paintings, installation boxes and assemblages. Although the message is often serious, I want the work to be playful. My painting style is expressive; my subjects are figures and landscapes. My figure work explores our relationships as friends, as humans, or self-reflection. In these paintings there are often travelers moving through space or a contemplative individual. The figures represent myself, my life experiences and sometimes world events. These works are in acrylic paint or collage and acrylic combined on different surfaces. Color harmony is an important element, as is composition. My painting often starts with a small sketch and goes through many reiterations and changes of color. I use many layers of paint, one atop another, to create a “history” that can be shown or partially hidden. I think this adds to the texture and quality of the paint surface. I am interested in the relationship between humans and nature. Recent landscape paintings of marshlands reflect the delicate balance to sustain these lands and the effects of human interference in climate change. My work is strongly influenced by literature, newspapers, poetry and the art of others. I have been inspired by the Bay Area Figurative Painters, such as Richard Diebenkorn, Nathan Oliveira, and Manuel Neri. Their simplification and abstraction of the human figure encourages me to practice this on mine. So many of today’s issues, immigration and the role of women in both societies among them, are also strong influences on many of my pieces. The challenge of creativity is to put things together in a different way.
ABOUT THE WORK
For artists it is important to express one’s feelings on issues that affect us. My goal in the Enso Circle residency is to create pieces that illustrate our relationship with nature and how we affect climate change. In talking with the Circle, I realized that using the four elements would be a conduit to describe this change. These are Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. My first piece is in encaustic medium and collage. The figure in the water is swimming away from destruction. Here water is the refuge and life for all animals but even that has been contaminated and, because of droughts, becoming scarcer. My second piece concerns the element of fire. Fire can be cleansing and purifying or destructive when set by humans or by acts of nature. In this work, I thought of the humans and animals caught in these fires, whether in the western United States, in the Amazon or elsewhere. My focus here is to see it from the immediate human point of view as people flee
Conflagration 2021 Acrylic and Collage on Canvas 24” x 28” $900
Water Refuge 2021 Encaustic and Collage on Wood Panel 16” x 20” $450
ABOUT THE ARTIST
LYN BELISLE (C0-FOUNDER, ENSO CIRCLE) Shards, Relics, and Beeswax My work has always been strongly influenced by the idea of “shards” as a metaphor for human communication across time. A shard can be a found fragment of clay, a rusty nail, a scrap of handwriting – any little clue that becomes a “secret handshake” between the maker and the discoverer. I work in four main media to explore my ideas: • In collage with digital images and altered papers, celebrating anonymous faces and otherworldly places • In earthenware clay with found objects, creating spiritual and symbolic “neosanto”assemblage • In fiber, with natural colors, wax, felt, tattered and dyed cheesecloth and digital photo images • In acrylic abstraction, with intuitive, non-referenced explorations of form and veiling
ABOUT THIS WORK
Recently, I have begun to understand that beeswax is a metaphoric material in itself, ancient as clay, versatile as paper, compelling as ivory and bone. Now, beeswax and encaustic are integral parts of my process. In 1904, the National Child Labor Committee formed in the hopes of ending the horrors of child labor. Teams of investigators were sent to collect evidence of the harsh conditions children were working in. One of these investigators was the photographer Lewis Hine, who traveled across the country meeting and photographing children working in a variety of industries. These images have always haunted me as frozen moments in a child’s forgotten life. This work, a five panel screen, focuses on images from the Hines archives as a basis for a dark-to-light study, bringing the child labor issue to light as an ongoing social concern. The children are caught in the moment, sealed in layers of beeswax, and presented in their work environment.
Children at Work Mixed Media/Wax 2021 8”x40” NFS
ABOUT THE ARTIST
MICHELLE BELTO (C0-FOUNDER, ENSO CIRCLE) Most artists will tell you that some of their earliest memories are wrapped up in something creative. As a voracious reader I developed a storyteller’s imagination which drew me to the stage. When I was nine, I was given the lead in our all-school annual play. It was more than magical to be a character in a life-sized story. I was hooked! For the next twenty-five years I was involved with every aspect of educational and professional theater including a three-year adventure transforming an abandoned 1890 vaudeville opera house into a thriving community theater. My work took a dramatic shift into visual art in the early 1990’s while working on a solo show I had written, Hildegard of Bingen. I woke up from a dream with the thought that I needed to paint. So, I did. What emerged from following that year-long intuitive journey of painting and writing the play is a series of five large paintings on paper that told me my own story. That year took me from stage to studio and effectively changed the direction of my career. A story is the basic structure of every play. Besides learning the materials and the language of visual art, I also had to find my way back into the story. My love of process led me to paper and wax, two mediums that must be transformed before they can be used. Fibers need to be boiled and beaten, formed into sheets and pressed. The wax must be molten to become a painting medium. For paper making, I share studio space at the Southwest School of Art where I teach and have access to a Holland beater and a hydraulic press. For my work in wax, I prefer the more intimate meditative space of my own studio. I am intrigued by the textures and shapes around me. I usually limit myself to a minimalist’s color palette choosing to let the richness of the beeswax and the surface of the paper speak for itself. I often use organic materials such as rust or the marks of a torch to inform the paper before I apply the wax. My themes tend toward the spiritual and my images still appear in dreams or flashes of insight.
ABOUT THE WORK
This new body of work is a departure from the style and content of the intimate stories created with vintage papers that I have been creating since 2017. This, the year of Covid, I have come face to face with my own mortality, as we all have. Each day I committed some time to listen to a story of someone who either survived or were taken too soon. These paintings are my own imagined understanding of that thinnest of veils we call death.
THE ARTISTS OF THE ENSO CIRCLE: FIRST TERM RESIDENTS FLO BARTELL When I make art, I excavate stories, scars, and symbols and give them form with encaustic and mixed media. I work with encaustic because the smooth, glossy surface, the pleasant aroma, the soothing rhythm of my torch, the unpredictable and preservative nature of the medium, and the intense color and movement possible with hot wax and pigment are seductive and satisfying. I sculpt and paint with determination, passion, and with a spirit of exploration that I hope the viewer can feel in my art.
GAIL BYRNES I inherited an old treadle sewing machine when I was 16, which began my passion for creating. I was an avid sewer for many years, and eventually did fiber arts, including weaving. I worked with clay for several years, and photography for a decade, having several solo shows. My work was largely about reflections and the macro world. More recently I have begun working with collage, and mixed media, and love combining different modalities. I have been an acupuncturist and shamanic practitioner for many years and enjoy experimenting with light, energy, and flow in my art and my work.
SUE CONNER The encaustic medium’s rich colors and sculptural qualities, for me, are intriguing and exciting. I find satisfaction when I let the spontaneous nature of the wax guide me as I explore ways to create textures, embed found objects, incorporate images, and integrate paper where the wax is the unifying factor. I have learned that life is essentially about the journey, what we encounter as we move forward, and how we choose to react. This is how I approach the creative process — I embrace my failed attempts and think more purposely about the process, deriving more value from the lessons learned than in the final product itself.
JOANNE DESMOND The notion of hiding, covering-up, obscuring the truth – the reality of who we really are at any given moment in time – has always intrigued me. Discovering what lies beneath the surface of someone or something is what I pursue. My current work straddles the thresholds of identity, experience, and memory as they connect to ancestry, relationships, and the fear of loss of connection. It is an exploration of the relationship between the visible and invisible, the gaze, the subject, and the other.
KATHERINE DYER Before COVID, I was an adult educator and leadership coach for the business sector. This last year I have been recalibrating the “who” I am, and the “what” I do as a retired person who hadn’t planned to be one. Your Enso Circle replicated my Enso collage in my journal I started last July signifying this new beginning. At that time Spirit Dolls found me. And Lyn, your faces graced my first two dolls which lead me to my next two stick dolls, and now I am exploring needle-felted Compassion Dolls.
NANETTE RAE FREEMAN I lost my husband of 25 years in a violent motorcycle accident and began making art as part of the grieving process. By going through old photographs, I have begun to open a dialogue about this new and compelling project. I am a longtime collector of photo postcards and a fan of “vernacular” photography. I have a basement full of found/flea market objects. I want to offer this collection of photographs as a device for others to experience something. By using these photographic images I can include assemblage, collage, various printing materials, and three-dimensional materials and the photographs to create new art objects.
VIRGINIA HEADLEY MASERANG Mostly self-taught, I have worked for ten years in 2D encaustic mixed media. As I paint, I explore themes about the push-and-pull of life, of energy and memory, of now and then, keeping the beginning marks still visible but obscuring them with the layers that follow. My work has been on public hiatus for four years for personal reasons, but the painting has continued. Over the past year I have been exploring new media, including watercolor and acrylic paint, for their abilities to also convey the notion of layers in time. Personal issues resolved, I’m ready to re-engage.
HARLEEN OSBORN I work predominately in charcoal, pencil and watercolor. Most of my drawings have been done from life, but I occasionally work from photographs. I have had three one man gallery shows and one of my charcoal drawings was published in “Strokes of Genius”. I have no formal art training, but I have taken workshops with several classically trained artists. I recently retired from my job in healthcare and am ready to grow as an artist.
LINDA RAEL I have been making fiber art and mixed media art,mainly 3D figures and art quilts. I have a BA in Studio Art with a Metals concentration and a minor in Art History. Post graduate studies in Art Therapy. I create figurative pieces. Soft sculpture and clay are the basic ingredients. They are highly embellished with embroidery, beads and found objects, including natural elements found on walks in the woods.
BRITA REKVE I am self taught. I work from an intuitive space. If I can’t create I am looking for a rocket launcher, not that I’d ever blow anything up, it just makes me crazy not to be making something. I am a retired bleeding heart clinical social worker and educator who now has the luxury of a creative space and money for supplies. I realize how very fortunate I am. I have a wicked sense of human. I’m a good person. Your dog would like me.
HEATHER TINKHAM I create fiber based mixed media art to express aspects of our deeply human experiences in their conflicting yet intimately integrated ways. These unique pieces are designed to intrigue and capture your imagination. My art challenges the labels we rely on so heavily, focusing on core essences and relationships, bringing more authenticity into our chaotic world. Ideally, my pieces end up like drops of water at the intersections of a grand spider web, magnifying the heart of the matter and focusing our attention on questions that are not easily answered while drawing us close with their haunting familiarity.
ROSA INES VERA My painting style is expressive and my subjects are mostly figures, silhouettes and landscapes. The figure paintings are mostly of women. In my ‘close up’ and landscape paintings, the close ups depict the intimate connection of plants and flowers to the larger landscape of the environment. My concern is that as wetlands and sea shores are affected by climate change these features of our environment become more dear. Part of my exploration is human interaction with their natural surroundings.
Note: As founders and facilitators of The Enso Circle, Michelle and Lyn practice what they teach within the group, working alongside the Residents in goal setting and studio practice.
MICHELLE BELTO My best work has always had components of image, story and dance. Without the immediacy of live performance, I’ve had to wrestle with the limits of the visual form. How was I to merge narrative in my work or give a sense of movement in what is basically a twodimensional static image? My questions and my ensuing study led me to paper and wax as mediums of choice. Paper, as an organic material, is useble only after it is transformed from grass into pulp which becomes canvas. Wax, in its molten state, incorporates movement as an essential quality in both application and process. LYN BELISLE I rejoice in the power of art as a “secret handshake” of recognition and belonging. Art humanizes and joins us, helping us communicate in a universal non-verbal language across time and space. The more aware I am of the little day-to-day things that capture my attention by calling to me in a mysterious way, and the more I take note of them, the more understanding I gain about the purpose of my art as basic human communication, both to myself and to the viewer.
SCENES FROM OUR STUDIOS
SUE CONNER
BRITA REKVE
LINDA RAEL VIRGINIA MASERANG
FLO BARTELL
GAIL BYRNES
MICHELLE BELTO
HARLEEN OSBURN
NANETTE RAE FREEMAN
ROSA VERA
LYN BELISLE
KATHERINE DYER
Nanette Rae Freeman During the pandemic, I was feeling the need to participate in an art focused group and I tried a few. When Lyn and Michelle accepted me in The Enso Circle, I really thought I’d probably have more of the same; but I was wrong. I met a group of women and two facilitators who let creative things arise and dissolve. That’s just the way it is in their world. There seems to be hardly any lasting struggles in their art practices. Their practices are not about accomplishing anything—not about winning or losing—but ceasing to struggle and relaxing into their creative selves. I think I unknowingly learned to do this in their presence, and I now call myself “an artist.” Harleen Osborn When I first read about The Enso Circle, I was so excited. An opportunity to work with Lyn and Michelle – I couldn’t apply fast enough! Little did I know that I would be joined by a group of wonderful women, sisters in spirit. All these artists are talented and blessed with generous hearts and a giving spirit. The residency has brought focus and a purpose into my art practice and dear friends into my life. I’m already planning for the next three months in the Circle as a continuing resident. Oh, and did I mention how much fun it is! Rosa Ines Vera This circle, including our two teacher guides, has provided structure and inspiration to me. Often, I would get ideas from others explanations of their processes. Or through a video provided by our guides. As we come from a variety of disciplines, these talks and comments have given me ideas and made me take different directions in my choice of mediums.
Katherine Dyer Enso Circle experience: When I was accepted to the circle, I thought I’d won the lotto! And then fear kicked in… what have I done I thought. I’m not a full time artist, I’ve never had a show of my work, much less know the first thing about it. Words like ‘artist statement’ and ‘bio’…oh my! Now that I am almost at the end of my Enso Circle, I have to tell you that Lyn and Michelle are gems! They openly share their experience with you and make you feel so welcome regardless of where you are in your art journey. The Circle artists are amazing and I often bask in their knowledge and insight. I have moved ahead in my art farther than I even expected. I now even say I am an artist, and my voice is getting stronger.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ENSO CIRCLE: WWW.THEENSOCIRCLE.COM