Sarah St Laurent

ssl@austin.rr.com
http://www.stlaurentart.com

Biography
As a child, Sarah got into big trouble for playing with matches and burning her finger. Happily she can now explore her curiosity of fire and heat in her work with encaustic. Art in some form has always been important to Sarah St Laurent. A love of art began as a child, and was expanded while she was taking a degree in Horticulture at Texas A&M University where the Arts and Craft Center was as important to her education as the greenhouses. As an adult, she has especially enjoyed silver smithing, hand built clay sculpture, enameling and watercolor. It seems fire and heat has been a recurring theme in Sarah’s art quest. Since 2008 when she was introduced to encaustics it has been her primary focus. Sarah enjoys living in Austin, Texas with her husband and son. She has studied encaustic under Michelle Belto, Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch, Daniella Woolf and Laura Moriarity. She has shown her work in small art fairs, encaustic group shows and juried art shows. She is a member of Austin Encaustics and IEA (International Encaustic Artists).

Artist Statement-
My creativity is process driven; I love the journey from initial idea to finished piece. I’m inspired by patterns, textures and the materials I use. The process of constructing a piece by combining elements, media and materials is exciting and fulfilling.
My medium is encaustic (beeswax & damar resin). I work with the wax by melting, fusing and layering. I often add fabric, paper, pastels, metal and wood. I love working with the wax and using a torch. By building layers of color, texture and pattern I can create rich textural images. Escaping to my studio allows me to savor the smell of the beeswax and the flow created between the torch and the wax.
I have explored many types of art; hand built clay sculpture, metalsmithing, watercolor and enameling to name a few, each medium has influenced my perspective as an artist. I love combining forms of art together to create abstract, collaged, 2 and 3-D works. My current series combines fabric I have dyed, encaustic and rusted metal. I am fascinated by the process of oxidation; nature’s decomposition of metals. I make it happen, then suspend its progress with wax. Dying fabric holds a similar allure, a capricious process, with rust or indigo. I also enjoy creating more representational encaustic landscapes to preserve or share a memory or a special place. There are so many ways to be creative with wax and few limitations.
I spent my professional career in horticulture but art has always been important to me. Fire and heat have been a recurring theme in my art quest and since 2007 encaustic painting has been my primary focus.
I live in Austin, Texas and am a member of the International Encaustic Artists/Texas Wax-Austin. My work has been exhibited in national and juried shows and local exhibitions. My work can be found at Presence Gallery in Austin and at my home studio.

Resume
September 2011 – Texas Wax Group Show- Dougherty Art Center, Austin, Texas
November 2011- Texas Wax Group Show, E.A.S.T. , Pigoata Studios, Austin, Texas
January 2012- Encaustic, Wood, Mosaic & Collage- ArtSpace, Round Rock Arts, Round Rock, Texas
February 24-May 18, 2012- Imagine, Juried Show- Round Rock Arts Council, Round Rock, Texas
March 23 - May 1, 2012- Playing with Fire Encaustic Exhibition- Gallery at the J, Austin, Texas
May 19 & 20, 2012 – West Austin Studio Tour –Site #97 – University Baptist Church Gallery, Austin, Texas
July 25 – October 23, 2012 – Texas Wax Group Show – Stars of Austin Gallery, Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Austin Texas
October 2012 –Georgetown Art Hop, Georgetown Art Works, Georgetown, Texas
November 2012- East Austin Studio Tour, Pigoata Studios, Austin, Texas
January 2013 –Austin Encaustic & Texas Wax Group Show – Dougherty Art Center, Austin, TX
February – May 2013- Imagine, Juried Show- Round Rock Arts Council, Round Rock, Texas
August – October 2013 -Twelve X Twelve: An exhibition of work in 12 x 12 Format – Dragonfly Gallery, Austin, TX
August 26- November 17, 2013- Out on a Limb: The Tree as Art and Metaphor, Juried Show - Gallery at the J, Austin, Texas
September 2013 –Georgetown Art Hop, Georgetown Art Works, Georgetown, Texas
November 2013- East Austin Studio Tour, Art Connection at Pump Project, Austin, Texas
May 2014 – A Common Thread- Austin Encaustic Arts Show at the Art Gallery at the Old Bakery & Emporium, Austin, Texas
July 2014 – Encaustic and Sculpture- ArtSpace- Round Rock Area Art Council, Round Rock, Texas
July-August 2014 – Encaustic Art Underground Group Show-Corridor of Art Gallery, Austin, Texas
September 2014- The Great Outdoors, Juried Show, Georgetown Art Center, Georgetown, Texas
October 2014- Poetry Bleeds Rust-International Encaustic Artists Juried Show, N.A.W.A. Gallery, 5th Ave, New York, New York
March 3-April 7, 2015 – Textural Journey-Adventures with Wax, Solo Show, Williamson County Heritage Museum, Georgetown, Texas
May 2, 2015- IEA/Austin Encaustic Pop-Up Group Show – Art.Science Gallery, in conjunction with The Buzz Stops Here- IEA Show, Austin, Texas
April 25, 2015- Encaustic Demo –In conjunction with IEA sponsored show The Buzz Stops Here - Art.Science Gallery, Austin, Texas
May 2015- WEST Austin Studio Tour, open studio, solo exhibit, Austin, Texas
May 30-August 31, 2015- Wildflowers and Wax, Solo Exhibit. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Wild Ideas, Austin, Texas
September 25-January 10- Life’s Textures Art Exhibit, Open Doors Gallery, Hill County Bible Church, Austin
October 15-January 25- Gallery East Display, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Austin, Texas
December 2015. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Wild Ideas Holiday Show, Austin, Texas
February 18, 2016 – Encaustic Talk and Demonstration, in conjunction with Heated Exchange: Contemporary Encaustics Exhibit, Stark Galleries, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
March 2016- Hot Wax/Cold Wax, Central Texas IEA Group Show, Avery Gallery, Kerr Arts and Culture Center, Kerrville, Texas