Eleanor Schimmel - Encaustic Enchantress
Eleanor Schimmel works every day in her studio on the outskirts of Philadelphia in Haverford, PA. Some of her pieces are too small for an easel; others are so large they need to be laid flat for the artist to reach them. Size, however, is not the enchanting factor of her work; it’s her chosen medium: wax.
Schimmel is an encaustic artist and has been for nearly twenty years. To visit her studio in Haverford it is clear that this artist has wax on the brain…and in her hair, on her clothing and shoes too!
Encaustic painting is an age-old method used by the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. Coming from the Greek word meaning ‘to burn in’, encaustic painting is a fusion of colored pigment and wax, bound together by heat. Beginning with layers upon layers of wax applied by melting, pouring and brushing the artist then alters the surface with additional layers and etching, burning and reapplying. The surface becomes a pool of multi-layer textures and colors so brilliant you want to taste them!
With a medium so intriguing the artist must certainly be mindful of the subject being captured in the wax. Schimmel creates images of the sublime and geometric abstractions. She dabbles with line and shapes, creating compositions open for freethinking and interpretation. Most of her subjects are inanimate, revolving around intertwined colors and shapes. She also creates pieces with animals, most are still created in abstraction and are often portrayed with the utmost subtleties.
Eleanor Schimmel is a graduate of the Moore College of Art and Design trained in art therapy and studio art; she has exhibited throughout the country and has her work the collection of museum, corporations and private individuals. Accenting the current exhibitions, Alexander Calder and the Natural Cycle and Inner Circles, we are proud to present her work in our public spaces on the first floor of the Susquehanna Art Museum. One of her encaustic paintings will also be included in Call of Wild, the 2004-2005 exhibition to be featured on the VanGo! museum on wheels.
Jessica Lantz
VanGo! Program Director