Siewert, who likes to use the small caps in her name and the titles of her works as an homage to a favorite poet, e.e. cummings, is known primarily for her luminous encaustic landscapes. Now she is also debuting a new series of abstract landscapes using cold wax and oil.
The color palettes all include some use of Indian yellow, a new favorite for the artist. “I love the life it gives to the works even when used as a subtle hint,” she said.
“The light around us is constantly altering the way we see the world. These new works reflect that changing vision in both natural and cityscapes.” says Siewert. “The cityscapes include suggestions of surrounding sights, such as the paper mill in Canton, or the tall downtown buildings of Asheville, while the natural world is captured in the colors and movement of abstract trees and mountains. I like that people see what means something to them in an abstract. I can lead them in a certain direction with shapes, colors or a title, but I love to hear what they see that I don’t. It’s a wonderful surprise when that happens. One time a person found a wolf howling at an moon I had painted. I never saw it until they mentioned it.”
siewert moved to Waynesville in 2011 to pursue a lifelong dream of being a full-time artist. She had been a Registered Nurse in Florida for 27 years, and raised five children. In 2004, she left nursing to become an entrepreneur in what would be a successful decorative finishing business in Orlando.
A visit to Asheville in 2010 became a major turning point when she experienced encaustic for the first time.
“Encaustic was my muse! I felt a strong pull both to a new artistic path for my life and to the mountains. It was the right decision.”
Her work can be seen in galleries in North Carolina and Tennessee and in private and corporate collections around the world.
“environs” runs from May 1 through July 12th, 2016.
More of t.e.’s work can be seen locally at Asheville Gallery of Art located at 82 Patton Avenue in Asheville, NC (across from Pritchard Park) and at Art on Depot, 250 Depot St. in Waynesville, NC.