“Open to Change”

This sculpture evolved from a single wet leaf discovered at my feet. Captured with my camera and enlarged and printed onto three sheets of textile, I layered over 70 layers of melted encaustic medium, fusing between each layer. I cut abstract shapes and began carving over five iterations for depth before pigmenting with powdered pigment fused into the wax to create the colored surface. Sculpting into shapes that led one leaf into the next, I reinforced with wax on the backsides, laboriously sewed them together, and adhered reed to the inside for extra strength. Suspending from found wood from our land, this piece invites viewers to look both outward and inward. Changes in our lives often arrive unbidden; remaining open creates space for growth.