Fluid States

Art Reception

Art by Jimmy Stoddard

Exhibit runs from September 9— October 19

Artist Statement

The work you are looking at always begins with a photo. Beeswax and damar resin medium are layered to create textures and depth. Pigmented wax is used along with alcohol inks to create color. Over the last year, I have been working on developing my own encaustic pigments from the things around me: sunflowers and roses from my yard, sands from southern Utah, stones from northern Arizona, coffee from the shop down the street. These images are the places and things in my life as I remember them, changeable and unreal. The combination of static "facts" like city streets and fluid "ideas" in the color and textures echo the places in my memory, and feel more true than any photograph could be.

Artist Bio

Photography has long been a constant in my artistic life. When I was a child, I was fascinated with my aunt Sandy's cameras. When I was a teen, I was given a Pentax K1000 and shot roll after roll. I moved away from photography for a time following a major setback—when I was in my 20s, someone broke into my van and stole my camera and hundreds of rolls of undeveloped film—but I eventually started taking pictures again, and went on to finish the photo program at SLCC. However, I’ve grown frustrated in recent years with the sterility of digital images. Using the same tools as a million other artists has established a uniformity of style, differentiated only by clicks on the keyboard or the newest light modifier. The inclusion of encaustic painting in my work has opened a new world of expression. Now I am back to the physicality of touching my images. Honey and pine has replaced the smell of fixer and my darkroom is now a Black and Decker griddle. I love putting my hands on the paper again.

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