Statement:
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
Pablo Picasso
A child raised without art is as surely deprived as a child raised without love.
Dalov Ipcar
These two artist’s quotes have meaning to me, because my thirty year studio practice has always paralleled and often intersected philosophically with my work as an early childhood educator. The unique creativity of a young child’s art work reflects her ability to work unselfconsciously, achieving flow effortlessly. I value my time with my students, as it fills me with joy, and teaches me daily how to live in the moment. I try to bring the same sense of being present and open to discovery that I observe in my students to my studio practice.
My process is one of building a visual language with my chosen wax medium, Encaustic. One series of works leads to another, and experiments with new materials and methods add to the rich vocabulary I draw from when creating works of art. My work is guided by continuing themes such as transformation and the cycle of life. These concepts are explored through works such as those in the semi-representational paintings of the Boat Series as well as the Islands and Ocean Series.
Bio:
Willa Vennema, born 1962, grew up in Greenwich Village, New York City and has lived in Portland Maine since 1992. Vennema received a BFA from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in NYC and a BA from Oberlin College in Ohio.
It was to be closer to Swan’s Island where she has spent summers since a child that Vennema moved to Maine. During the summer months, Vennema paints “en plein air” on the many outings she takes with her family on their boat in the waters surrounding Swan’s Island. In the winter, the memories of these views emerge in an abstracted version in works made with the encaustic medium. Vennema has shown her work in galleries throughout Maine, and is currently represented by Portland Art Gallery in Portland, Maine, and Harbor Square Gallery in Camden Maine.
Website: willavennema.com