This series features small, improvisational, origami-like collage forms created from manipulated pieces of encaustic-infused rice and tissue papers. The series began with the otherwise practical intention of reusing scrap materials but has evolved into something more meaningful and representative of an interest in science, nature, memory, and narratives of ecosystems in flux. These abstract compositions are the result of an exploration of how encaustic-infused paper can be manipulated through layering, cutting, folding and the use of heated tools. My goal is for these non-representational compositions to reflect a suspended state of evolution as one form shifts to become another.
Erin Anfinson is an artist based in Murfreesboro, TN. She earned her BA in Studio Art from the University of Northern Iowa, her MFA from the University of Connecticut and is currently an associate professor in the Department of Art and Design at Middle Tennessee State University. Anfinson’s encaustic works have been exhibited nationally and internationally in juried, invitational, and solo exhibitions. In 2017 she was awarded a National Park Artist Residency at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa. In addition to her creative work and research, she also regularly teaches mixed media encaustic workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
