Blue Moon Gallery features encaustic exhibition

GRAYSLAKE – Blue Moon Gallery presents a new exhibition called “Encaustic Quartet” featuring the encaustic artwork of Pat Lagger (Aurora), Laura LaRue (Crystal Lake), Rebecca Russow (La Grange Park) and Michele Thrane (Arlington Heights).

The exhibition showcases each artist’s perspectives using the ancient medium of natural beeswax and damar resin (crystallized tree sap). The medium can be used alone for its transparency or pigment can be added. Encaustic comes from the Greek word “enkaiein,” meaning “to burn in,” which refers to the process of fusing the paint. Artists are drawn to encaustic for its dimensional quality and luminous color.

Lagger is a Vermont Studio alumna and a recipient of a Ragdale Foundation artist residency. She has shown her art in U.S. galleries and abroad.

“Life experiences as a high school English and humanities teacher, plus 30 years of teaching piano, have enriched my artmaking,” Lagger said in a news release. “I express my passion for antique manuscripts and music in this group of encaustic paintings.”

LaRue’s series of encaustic works called “Bijou Ladies” explores the intricate tapestry of memories and emotions that connect us to the significant women in our lives. Using intuitive approaches to color, shape and texture, LaRue infuses each piece with its own personality, reflecting the individuality of the women they represent.

Russow experiments with a variety of materials and strives to create harmony and cohesiveness from diverse components. She enjoys the challenge of creating unity in her pieces by layering textures, colors, lines, text and/or graphics. Russow’s goal is to hold the viewer’s attention for a sustained amount of time, allowing them to consider the title of the piece and make personal connections to the artwork.

Thrane is a printmaker and mixed media artist whose abstract work begins with an encaustic monotype created on a special heated box called the Roland HOTbox. She uses encaustic paint and then draws on the heated box using tools to manipulate the molten, pigmented wax. Pressing paper to the plate, she begins to create the print, repeating the process many times until the print is finished. Thrane practices a form of “asemic writing” which is a kind of invented calligraphy.

“Encaustic Quartet” features more than 40 pieces of art from the four artists.

“One of our big goals this year was to bring really visually exciting and interesting exhibits to our patrons that challenge, inspire and engage – and ‘Encaustic Quartet’ does exactly all that. It presents encaustic mixed media works inspired by ancient writing systems, pre-modern musical notations, concepts of unity and harmony via the use of disparate materials and feminine strength and wisdom. The exhibition is loaded with color, shapes, textures, layering and mark-making and the use of found objects and offers viewers a visually thrilling entry into the captivating world of encaustic art,” said Kendra Kett, director of Blue Moon Gallery.

An artists’ reception will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 26 at the gallery. It is free and open to the public. Wine will be served.

Guests also can view new mixed media illustrations by Sinead Carus (Grayslake). Sinead hand draws all of her illustrations using graphite and pen and ink. Acrylic painter and photographer Julie DeFalco (formerly of Huntley) is presenting “Cheers!,” a collection of acrylic paintings featuring festive cocktails (and a pair of contemplative cats) reminding us that life is worth celebrating.

The gallery’s five collective artists – Juli Janovicz, John Kirkpatrick, Ginny Krueger, Matthew Padilla and Kett – will have many new art pieces on display, too, including acrylic, oil, watercolor, encaustic, woodblock prints, pastel and ink. Padilla also will be sharing a large collection of figure drawings.

The gallery is located at 18620 Belvidere Road in Grayslake.

For more information, including gallery hours, call Kett at 224-388-7948 or visit the gallery’s website at www.thebluemoongallery.com.