‘No propaganda value whatsover’

“Forget” (monotype and encaustic collage on panel), by Groton, Mass.-based artist Jeanne Borofsky

She writes in her Web site:

“Having grown up in the country I have always looked to nature to center myself – to restore balance to my mind and my world. I spend time in the woods or by the water letting the rhythms of the world become part of me. I create encaustic monotypes with patterns reminiscent of barks and leaves or water, and collage them onto panels, adding many bits of ephemera, both natural and not.

“My encaustic constructions (“castles”) usually start with encaustic monotypes. There is a monotype mounted to the panel, and I add origami boxes folded mostly from more encaustic monotypes. I spend a lot of my time folding, which is a kind of meditation, and then more time constructing and adding stamps, maps, bits of asemic writing and other ephemera to create my own world. I have often felt the way Alexander Calder felt when he said, ‘I want to make things that are fun to look at, that have no propaganda value whatsoever.’

“Stamps, maps and electronic bits are ever present in my work, nothing seems complete without one or the other. Creatures abound, and sometimes they are the main focus of my attention.

“I love the way beeswax creates both physical and visual depth and translucency to my work – adding to the mystery and magic I’m trying to understand and convey. Whatever I put into my art, it always includes the joy of creation, the love of art, and the happiness in my ability to create it.’’

Chapel at the Groton School, an elite Episcopalian boarding school.

'Time in the woods'

“Old Growth” (encaustic monotype and origami assemblage), by Jeanne Borofsky

On the New England Wax Web site, Ms. Borofsky explains:

“Having grown up in the country I have always looked to nature to center myself – to restore balance to my mind and my world. I spend time in the woods or by the water letting the rhythms of the world become part of me. I create encaustic monotypes with patterns reminiscent of barks and leaves or water, and collage them onto panels, adding many bits of ephemera, both natural and not.

“My encaustic constructions (‘castles’) usually start with encaustic monotypes. There is a monotype mounted to the panel, and I add origami boxes folded mostly from more encaustic monotypes. I spend a lot of my time folding, which is a kind of meditation, and then more time constructing and adding stamps, maps, bits of asemic writing and other ephemera to create my own world. I have often felt the way Alexander Calder felt when he said, ‘I want to make things that are fun to look at, that have no propaganda value whatsoever.’

“Stamps, maps and electronic bits are ever present in my work, nothing seems complete without one or the other. Creatures abound, and sometimes they are the main focus of my attention.’’

 Her bio:

Jeanne Borofsky, BFA, MFA, is internationally recognized, with paintings, prints and drawings in numerous museums and private collections. Born in New Hampshire, and now living in Groton, Mass., she has been a practicing artist for over 50 years. She has (and does) make art with watercolors, oils, encaustics, rubber stamps, collages and prints (traditional, photographic, encaustic & digital).