Page 61 - Enso Circle Catalog September 2021

About LYN BELISLE

the Shards, Relics, and Beeswax

Artist 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.

For decades I’ve worked with clay, fiber, and paper in assemblage and collage
to express this non-verbal time-circle connection. When my friend Michelle
Belto introduced me to the encaustic process in 2009, This new-to-me medium
seemed the perfect companion for my most-loved materials. I’d briefly tried
encaustic medium on collage, but I began 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.

I rejoice in the power of art to elicit both recognition and belonging. Art
humanizes and joins us, helping us communicate in a universal non-verbal
language across time and space.
TOP:
I’LL FLY AWAY
About DIGITAL PHOTOCOLLAGE, BEESWAX,
MEDIUM:
PIGMENT, FOIL
the Part of the bedrock of the Enso Circle is goal- 12” X 12” X 2.5”
DIMENSIONS:
setting. As a long-time professional artist, I realized
Work that during the Pandemic, I had pulled back from DEFINITION OF METAMORPHOSIS: CHANGE
DESCRIPTION:
challenges, content to work in comfortable themes
and media while developing online workshops and
OR SUBSTANCE ESPECIALLY BY
other educational media. OF PHYSICAL FORM, STRUCTURE,
SUPERNATURAL MEANS. CROWS
BELIEVE THAT THEY GET TO TURN INTO
DRAGONFLIES WHEN THEY GO TO HEAVEN.
My self-imposed challenge and goal was to to get ASK ANY CROW.
back in the practice of entering some national juried
shows for the purpose of focusing on prescribed BOTTOM:
themes in my artmaking. No matter how long artists TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY
have practiced, competition can be scary, and MEDIUM:
rejection a tough lesson. FIBER, WOOD, FOUND OBJECTS, MIXED
MEDIA
DIMENSIONS:
The two pieces on the right were, blessedly, juried 17” X 6” X 6”
into two national juried exhibitions during the course
of this Enso Circle Term. I will swear that the “Enso DESCRIPTION:
THIS WORK EXPLORES AMBIGUITY IN THE
influence” of accountability and structure contributed LANGUAGE OF COMMUNICATION THROUGH
to reaching my goal! FIBER ART. ANY INTERPRETATION OF THIS
MEMORY-STORY IS NEITHER BAD NOR
GOOD. THE VIEWER INTERPRETS THE PLOT
FROM VISUAL CLUES ON BOTH SIDES.
TEXTURES AND EXPRESSIONS REMIND US
THAT THERE IS ALWAYS BE MORE THAN
ONE RIGHT ANSWER.
60 61