Inward Journey
Most people are searching for their personal truth, too often from outside sources. Once the journey begins, they discover that truth is found within.
This series of encaustic paintings was conceived on a road trip, in a daydream, somewhere in the middle of the United States. For the original one woman show, these pieces were not titled, only numbered, so as not to influence the viewer's interpretation. The names given now are to influence, however the viewer is encouraged to rename as desired.
This work is meant to assist each individual on their personal inward journey.
Pick a piece, focus on the center, let all external sounds drift away. Take a nice relaxing breath and, for a moment, forget about where you are, what you look like, who might be watching and let yourself drift in; into the center of the piece and into the center of yourself.
Now try this with several other paintings and see how each one makes you feel.
Encaustic is the process of painting with liquid hot wax, predominantly beeswax, with added pigment. This ancient art form traces back to 700 A.D. when beeswax was used to patch leaks on boats. It didn't take long to realize that, adding pigment to the wax made an amazingly depth filled, translucent form of art expression.
Encaustic was used for portraits, landscapes, and abstracts for many centuries. However, the toxicity of mixing the powdered pigments led to a decrease in its popularity. It was almost a lost art form until in the 1970’s when Jasper Johns brought it back into vogue.
Luckily today the pigments are concentrated in wax, minimizing the toxins.
These pieces are living art; they continue to evolve and bloom. Also, they’re environmentally sensitive since encaustic can crack below 45° and melt above 90°, or in direct sunlight.
Gayle Barklie has been a psychotherapist for nearly 30 years, an artist her entire life. This current body of work is the visual expression of her therapeutic work. Each bit of communication, be it a look, a sigh, a title, can influence a person's journey...
Enjoy your own experience.
For more on Gayle’s transpersonal inward journey work, go to: www.SoulPurposeMaui.com
BFA – Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA 1988
MFC – Loyola Marymount University, CA 1991
CCHT – Hypnosis Institute Of Maui, Maui, HI 2011
LBL – The Newton Institute, Melbourne, Australia 2012