BIO
Sandra is an artist and K-12 certified educator, originally from East Stroudsburg, PA., currently residing in Supawna Meadow Refuge in Pennsville, NJ. Her artwork is primarily abstract and composed of intriguing layers, similar to the layers of her life. She specializes in combining sunlight, plant life, beeswax and fire. Her work captures natural worlds transforming magical rejuvenations in providing a sense of place.
Sandra exhibits her work in competitive galleries, art centers, hospitals and universities both locally and nationally. Her work has won numerous awards and is held in private collections. She is a certified K-12 art teacher and certified encaustic instructor with R&F Handmade Paints. Sandra conducts workshops at local art centers and in her Pennsville, NJ studio. She has served on several non-profit boards, supporting visual and performing arts and arts education.
Sandra received an AA from The Art Institute, a BA in Art and a BA in Education from Rowan, earning the Gates Award for Excellence, a MIT in Art History from Studio Art Center, IT as part of the Seward Johnson Artist Award. She furthered her education with a MAT from University of the Arts through university scholarships and grants through the Art Educators of NJ where she is an active volunteer. Her artwork has been shown in over 70 exhibitions.
Sandra teaches secondary art education in Southern New Jersey where she wrote and received school grants, a Target Grant and an Artist in Education Grant, funding an anti-bullying mosaic mural. Her work was shared at the AENJ conference, published in ARTBeat Magazine, and later recognized through a Rauschenberg Foundation Power of Art Grant. In mentoring, Sandra collaborates with Rowan Art Ed. Dept. and Gallery in collaborative projects presenting them at conferences. She volunteers with arts organizations and has sat on their BODs - promoting art and education. Her passion has been recognized with the NJ Governor's Award; Guadadiello Service Award.
STATEMENT
My love of mark making, pattern, and texture is apparent in my work. While creating, I recall imagery from inspiration in nature and travel. I recreate the imagery of the places I’ve seen, in keeping with the experiences I’ve had in those places.
Throughout my career I have worked with a variety of media combined. As a mixed media artist, I tend to create using a variety of different substrates, attempting to problem solve in creating the imagery I hope to unveil. My paintings are composed of multiple layers, including, hand made papers, original drawings, photos, cyanotype prints, and ephemera.
Most recently, I have been drawn to paint with the ancient technique of encaustic because of its history, its uniqueness and the creative challenges it brings to my artwork. For over 15 years, I have refined my use of this material and am known for my work in this technique. Continually intrigued by the fine line between figuration and abstraction, my paintings evolve through slow accumulations of semi-transparent wax layers, light permeating these works and becoming compositionally present.
As an artist, I am particularly drawn to abstraction that encourages discovery of the artists’ story. The combination of the organic materials, beeswax and damar tree resin, creates a vibrant luminous surface that almost glows with life. My paintings convey a sense of time and order by creating three-dimensional surfaces through the process of applying many layers of encaustic medium. The order and characteristics of each layer of molten medium applied determines what is visible and what is obstructed from view. My paintings become complex, enticing the viewer into further investigation.
Sandra is an artist and K-12 certified educator, originally from East Stroudsburg, PA., currently residing in Supawna Meadow Refuge in Pennsville, NJ. Her artwork is primarily abstract and composed of intriguing layers, similar to the layers of her life. She specializes in combining sunlight, plant life, beeswax and fire. Her work captures natural worlds transforming magical rejuvenations in providing a sense of place.
Sandra exhibits her work in competitive galleries, art centers, hospitals and universities both locally and nationally. Her work has won numerous awards and is held in private collections. She is a certified K-12 art teacher and certified encaustic instructor with R&F Handmade Paints. Sandra conducts workshops at local art centers and in her Pennsville, NJ studio. She has served on several non-profit boards, supporting visual and performing arts and arts education.
Sandra received an AA from The Art Institute, a BA in Art and a BA in Education from Rowan, earning the Gates Award for Excellence, a MIT in Art History from Studio Art Center, IT as part of the Seward Johnson Artist Award. She furthered her education with a MAT from University of the Arts through university scholarships and grants through the Art Educators of NJ where she is an active volunteer. Her artwork has been shown in over 70 exhibitions.
Sandra teaches secondary art education in Southern New Jersey where she wrote and received school grants, a Target Grant and an Artist in Education Grant, funding an anti-bullying mosaic mural. Her work was shared at the AENJ conference, published in ARTBeat Magazine, and later recognized through a Rauschenberg Foundation Power of Art Grant. In mentoring, Sandra collaborates with Rowan Art Ed. Dept. and Gallery in collaborative projects presenting them at conferences. She volunteers with arts organizations and has sat on their BODs - promoting art and education. Her passion has been recognized with the NJ Governor's Award; Guadadiello Service Award.
STATEMENT
My love of mark making, pattern, and texture is apparent in my work. While creating, I recall imagery from inspiration in nature and travel. I recreate the imagery of the places I’ve seen, in keeping with the experiences I’ve had in those places.
Throughout my career I have worked with a variety of media combined. As a mixed media artist, I tend to create using a variety of different substrates, attempting to problem solve in creating the imagery I hope to unveil. My paintings are composed of multiple layers, including, hand made papers, original drawings, photos, cyanotype prints, and ephemera.
Most recently, I have been drawn to paint with the ancient technique of encaustic because of its history, its uniqueness and the creative challenges it brings to my artwork. For over 15 years, I have refined my use of this material and am known for my work in this technique. Continually intrigued by the fine line between figuration and abstraction, my paintings evolve through slow accumulations of semi-transparent wax layers, light permeating these works and becoming compositionally present.
As an artist, I am particularly drawn to abstraction that encourages discovery of the artists’ story. The combination of the organic materials, beeswax and damar tree resin, creates a vibrant luminous surface that almost glows with life. My paintings convey a sense of time and order by creating three-dimensional surfaces through the process of applying many layers of encaustic medium. The order and characteristics of each layer of molten medium applied determines what is visible and what is obstructed from view. My paintings become complex, enticing the viewer into further investigation.