The Orcas Island Artworks will feature “Novellas” – encaustic paintings by Kandis Susol, through the month of July.
Encaustic is an ancient medium consisting of beeswax, damar resin and pigments mixed and applied under heat. Kandis carves, scrapes, presses and adds oil stick and collage materials to her surfaces in an abstract expressionist manner. She has been experimenting with this medium for five years.
Kandis’ work is influenced by her studies in Zen Buddhism, Japanese garden design and the Japanese tea ceremony, which follows four basic principles: harmony, purity, respect, and tranquility. Her studio is located in a 120 year old apple orchard she calls “Jaku An”which means “arbor of tranquility.”
“I am forever inspired to create beauty just by living on this island,” she says. “The quiet, sacred vibration of the island allows me to slow down and be with the medium to let it unfold into being.”
The Artworks is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.