‘It’s still the same old story’

“Love and War” (encaustic, rusted paper, old letter, graphite and ink), by Pembroke, Mass.- based artist and honey-product producer Stephanie Roberts-Camello.

The North River, which flows through the Pembroke area.

— Photo by John Phelan

Great Sandy Bottom Pond, in Pembroke.

She writes:

“Discovering a box of old family letters in my family's basement would change the way I painted and how I thought about my work. There were stacks of letters bound i twine according to who sent them. They dated back as far as 1919 through 1946. Many of these letters reference the dust bowl days of Texas and the Great Depression. I come from a family of cattlemen and farmers who were dependent on the weather for their survival. Loss of crops due to droughts and tough conditions in raising cattle are common themes coupled with money problems. These problems are not mine, but I couldn't help relate them to obstacles and set backs that we all have.

“Encaustic is a medium that can be worked flat or sculpturally. One of its many attributes is it can retain any stress mark or scrape once it cools. It has an innate feature for documentation. These letters; represent a period of suffering, loss and endurance in our country, and for me, the intricately-worked encaustic shrouds became metaphors for struggle and change. Layers of wax literally cover up the past. I peel them back to reveal a portion of what once was. 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 role in removing a build up and seeing what has been lying dormant. It holds a stratum of time much like the earths core. 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 that 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 the past that enlightens and informs the future.’’

'Encaustic shrouds' in Cambridge

Encaustic painting by Stephanie Roberts-Camello, in her show “Many Miles,’’ Sept. 30-Oct. 8 at Maud Morgan Arts Chandler Gallery, Cambridge, Mass.

She says: “Discovering a box of old family letters in my family's basement would change the way I painted and how I thought about my work. There were stacks of letters bound in twine according to who sent them. They dated back as far as 1919 through 1946. Many of these letters reference the dust bowl days of Texas and the Great Depression.

”Encaustic is a medium that can be worked flat or sculpturally. One of its many attributes is it can retain any stress mark or scrape once it cools. It has an innate feature for documentation. These letters; represent a period of suffering, loss and endurance in our country, and for me, the intricately worked encaustic shrouds became metaphors for struggle and change.’’

Layers of history from the '30s

"Eclipse'' (encaustic relief construction over wood and old letters), by Stephanie Roberts-Camello, in  her show "Encaustic Shrouds, Free Forms and Missing Pieces series,'' at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, Cotuit, Mass., through April 21.

She explains that her work is primarily of encaustic paint {which uses bee's wax} with which "many layers are built up and fused to each other over text or old family letters from the '30's and '40's during the Depression and the Dust Bowl days of Texas. These letters represent a very difficult time in our country's history -- a time that had to be endured. This work is about confronting and overcoming personal obstacles.'' The aim is "to look at the past in a new light and be free of anything holding one back.''

Ms. Roberts-Camello is a member of the New England Wax consortium.

Under attack from the inside

"Under Attack'' (encaustic relief over mixed media ), by Stephanie Roberts-Camello, in the group show "We the People,'' through March 14 at the James Library and Center for the Arts in Norwell, Mass. -- a suburb south of Boston on the North River.

 

Your inner wax

''Primary Instincts'' (encaustic), by Stephanie Roberts-Camello, in the show ''SHIFTS: Approaching Encaustic From All Angles,'' at the Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Mass., through Nov. 26. Reception 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28.