Last December I had the opportunity to visit Florence, Italy while my daughter was studying abroad. On a visit to the Uffizi museum, I was struck by the halos in Botticelli’s paintings. Halos often represent spiritual character and light in Renaissance art. I was very surprised at my physical response to seeing these in person as I’ve never been particularly drawn to the style. My eyes began to well up and I truly felt a spiritual presence in the paintings. I wish I could say that I have this level of reaction to art all the time, but it just isn’t the norm for me!
Fast forward to a month later when a little lamb comes to my husband’s veterinary office. A staff member was bottle feeding the lamb throughout the day since the mother had rejected her at birth. My daughters and I brought Meadow home for a day to photograph her. She was so young and clumsy. She was innocent and beautiful. As I worked with the images and decided to create a photo encaustic series from them, the Botticelli halos came back to my mind. But how to make the halos light and relevant? We are all so young and clumsy with our spiritual selves. Why not give the lambs their halos but have them be in the process of figuring out how to wear them? Isn’t that really what we are doing here? Growing in light and learning how to love? Then I had to figure out how to apply the halos. I tried several gold options, but in the end, in true Renaissance fashion, only the real 18k gold leaf adhered properly to the wax to give the luster I wanted. So I offer to you this sweet lamb named Meadow learning how to wear a gilded halo. I hope you love her as much as I do.
This collection release via The Campbell Collective at 10 a.m. on April 11th, 2024. Click HERE to purchase.
In Fragments, I employ a variety of mediums such as graphite, encaustic, and oils to create a layered landscape... a reminder of the importance of place and time. I am constantly exploring the nuances of beauty and the influence of nostalgia and loss on our life experiences. When I examine all of the elements of my personality, relationships, and life experiences, the predominating theme is the connection between great love and great loss. My work is an attempt to mark the moments of time when one is aware that the separation between joy and suffering is actually quite small. The idea that beauty can hurt and great love is often bound to great suffering fascinates me. I am in a constant pursuit to maintain our connection to beauty, awe, and wonder while also acknowledging the separation from these notions that occurs as we age and our daily responsibilities multiply. This collection seeks to represent our limited memory of a landscape and how we carry only a piece of that reality forward and thereby experience the ache of the loss of time itself.”
Please visit https://campbellcollective.co/collections/erin-hughes to purchase.
About the collection…
As I walk along the beach, I bend down to pick up a shell. I hold it in my hand, rubbing the surface like a prayer stone, wondering how so many shells under my feet can all be so unique. I tuck the shell in my bag to carry home to remind me of this time, this breeze, this light, and this sand. The seashells, rocks, shark's teeth, and flowers we collect...all stored away in boxes, pressed in journals, and stacked in jars in the hopes that a physical fragment of the landscape will secure the memory in our hearts.
Each piece of The Fragments Collection is made up of two pieces of archival cardboard bound together to create a horizon line. Then, with layers of graphite, encaustic medium, and oils, the landscape evolves... a reminder of the importance of place and time. A small fragment of memory to treasure until the next adventure.
Layers of encaustic medium and oils on board. Glimpses of the beauty that surrounds us.
I have lived within driving distance of the blue ridge mountains my entire life. From Georgia all the way to Massacusetts, Virginia, and now in South Carolina. These mountains reach deep in my soul and I think I will be painting them forever.
It began in the fall of 2021 when I realized that I wasn’t actually in control of *my* world. At 46, one would think I knew that already, but it came as a bit of a shock and with no small amount of despair. And honestly, it’s all still a journey. Each day I have to open my fists that are unconsciously clenched around what I think is the issue in order to receive the gifts of freedom and love. I guess it’s just yet another way of saying “let go”. Carl Jung’s phrase “the two halves of life” speak to the truth of it I think in regards to timeline. As well as St. Teresa of Avila’s description of The Interior Castle. So that’s a bit of the heavy reading behind these works. On a technical note, these encaustic works are such a challenge! Think inlaid tile…the shapes of wax are relatively smooth on the surface but intricately embedded in each other. Encaustic means “to burn in” as the molten wax is actually painted with the fire of a blow torch. Once that river of wax is too hot, you lose control and it moves - often where you don’t want it to! It’s always interesting to see the connection between the physicalities of creating art and life itself.
Fine art prints and notecards for The Piper Collection can be purchased by clicking here.
Across the globe, I think we can agree that the time of the Covid quarantine in 2020 was an experience unlike any other. For me personally, I experienced the first real loss of my life that year when my dad’s transplanted lung gave its last breath. That precious time of life when one has her children at home, parents close by, and everyone in good health ended. Just like that. And then within weeks, the Covid pandemic began. We were all home for quite some time. There was a day in early March when I was taking photographs of a large floral arrangement in my home studio. I think the need to photograph beautiful things was my soul finding its way through grief. I felt separated from beauty. My heart ached. Reaching for my camera was a way to find a connection again. However, my oldest daughter decided to let her pet “fancy rat” Piper loose onto my glorious scene. At first, I was irritated because I was so focused on the flowers and resented the interruption, but then the most magical thing happened. Piper came just into focus with the most shocked expression right next to a spilled container of Goji berries. She was just as surprised to be in the scene as I was to photograph her there. At this moment my quarantine education began. This is when the beauty of reality, even the often-seen-as ugly side of reality, began to demand my attention. Almost every day I would create an environment for Piper to explore while I attempted to capture her from behind the lens. Most days, one of my three daughters would help set it up…soon they began to run inside with glee after finding a snail or carpenter bee to add to the composition. It was as if Piper was discovering the scent, the colors, and the texture of it all..absorbing the glorious details in wonder and awe. At this point I must confess, I have never been thrilled about having a pet rat. I’ve always thought their faces, their mannerisms, and bodies were adorable…but then there’s the tail. The tail still gives me goosebumps! However, as I spent more and more time with Piper, watching how she moved and her sweet demonstrative expressions…I began to care for her much more. A need to protect her surfaced (she’s old and I can see what is coming down the road). And that’s just it…when we truly see the beauty and humanity in those that are different from us … this is when our love grows. Our empathy grows. Our heart breaks open to the world. This is where our behavior can change.
Mavis is our English Pointer pup. She is well loved and photographed often. These works are photo encaustics and begin with an archival print on japanese washi paper mounted to cradled board. Then pastels, inks, oils, and encaustic medium were used to create the final works, each one an original.
The Barnaby’s are a pair of sibling runner ducks that we welcomed to our home here in South Carolina. To see them waddle is sheer delight. These are photo encaustic paintings. Each one begins with an archival print on japanese washi paper mounted to cradled board. Pastels, inks, and oils in additon to encaustic medium are used to create the final work.