self portrait

Encaustic mixed media on primed hardboard, 10” x 10”, unframed

An Artist friend challenged me to do a “self portrait” in Encaustic. I had to look around at other self portraits in order to get an idea of what to do, what did I want it to say, Who Am I? There is this great store in San Luis Obispo, CA called “The Junk Girls”, I could stay in that store all day. They have the greatest stuff. I got bitten by the Auction and flea market bug a long time ago. I used to drag my kids out with me early on a Friday morning in the summer with their sippy cups and some crackers while I drove the hilly roads of the Southern Tier of NY State to go to garage sales and flea markets! I love finding old things that I remember from my childhood. I bought old furniture and refinished it. I bought old polaroid cameras. Then when I started doing mixed media art it became old papers and trinkets and anything you could embed in a collage or wax. So in this piece you will see some of the “repurposed” stuff that identifies me, a proud junk girl!