The story beneath

Work by Stephanie Roberts-Camello (encaustic relief over book pages and casein)

She writes:

“Layers of wax literally cover up the past. Revealed, exhumed, manipulated, up-ended, exposed, all of these actions give me a sense of freedom, and the ability to step outside myself. Seemingly destructive to the surface, the peeling plays a positive roll in removing a build up and seeing what has been lying dormant. The depth created working this way is jarring to me, confrontational, alluring and frightening. There is risk involved, but the presence of this relief work conveys a sense of resilience and life which keeps me returning. It speaks with a boldness and beauty which is also fragile. This opposition between image/content and material is the catalyst for the development of my encaustic relief series. This work continues to evolve as I find new ways to shed light on subjects I want to confront.’’

Quaker meeting house in Pembroke. Southeastern Massachusetts was an early center for Quakers in America.

The artist, a member of New England Wax (newenglandwax.com) lives in Pembroke, Mass., where she and her husband have a business called Queen Bee Honey.

The geography of the once rural, agricultural and fishing town Pembroke, now a Boston suburb, is dominated in the northern part by streams flowing through woods that once provided the lumber for the North River's shipbuilding industry. These streams are famous for their fish runs, including of herring, blue fish and striped bass.

The southern half is dominated by several ponds and Silver Lake, where the towns of Pembroke, Kingston, Plympton and Halifax meet.

Early industries also included smelting bog iron and cutting and selling ice from the town’s many bodies of fresh water.

From Marshfield, looking across the North River toward Pembroke. It’s a fine fishing area.