Encaustic is a process that uses heat to fuse layers of pigmented wax together and to direct its flow across the surface. Each layer reacts to what is underneath the surface and in response to the amount and direction of the heat. There is an element of unpredictability in working with encaustic; It is in a constant state of flux while working. Even when not working in encaustic, interplay between each material added, and flexibility with what happens next is an important part of the process.
The changing state of an encaustic painting, or any mixed media work, mirrors my thought process. As each layer reacts to and bonds with the next, ecologically reminiscent and biomorphic forms emerge, shifting between places I have been and small observations of nature. Similar patterns organically appear: wood grain, water flow, venation patterns on wings, wind ripples on sand, and the movement of land over time. Reproduction of nature is not the goal, however. Details of my surroundings and feelings of place are absorbed, and connected with past experiences. Through visual analogy, an aesthetic fusion is made between seemingly disparate elements, creating something new.
My aim as an artist is to expand human experience beyond what is physically seen by encouraging an imaginative reconstruction of our understanding of the world. The human brian naturally makes connections. A single experience in nature is not insular; each experience affects how we perceive the next. Analogical thinking disrupts established thought patterns as new connections emerge, allowing the formation of ideas that might not be imagined otherwise. Perception, memory and time all give rise to our subjective experience of the natural world. I hope that in encountering my work viewers share in the process of meaning creation: their own experiences are involved in what they see.
Laura Pereira is a contemporary mixed media artist and encaustic painter working in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is the recipient of a 2013 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, a 2023 Emerging Artist grant from International Encaustic Artists, and a 2024 Next Step grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. Drawing upon experiences in both the urban environment of her hometown, Chicago, IL, and travels in natural places throughout the world, her work examines the symbiotic relationship between perception and human experience. Philosophical questions propel Laura’s work, particularly ideas about knowledge creation, and human conceptions of the environments in which they exist.
In her thirty years as an art educator, Laura has worked in schools as a K-12 art teacher, a museum educator, and an independent contract artist. Working with people of all ages to find connection and meaning through making art has been a focus throughout her career. Currently, she is the Visual Arts Specialist at The Friends School of Minnesota and is the owner of Open Art Space, an art studio that offers affordable creative space and experimental art labs. Helping make quality art experiences accessible for everyone is the goal of OAS, be it in the studio or out and about in the world.