Studio 11
Dee Levang
Dee Levang is an abstract artist working in encaustic, cold wax and oil, and fiber. Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, she has lived in St. Louis for 20 years. She studied graphic design at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and worked professionally as a graphic designer for over 25 years. Dee has been teaching encaustic and fiber workshops since 2015.
Member of the International Encaustic Artists organization, and the St. Louis Artists’ Guild.
Awarded two Artist Support grants from RAC (Regional Arts Commission) and a scholarship to the International Encaustic Conference, in Provincetown, MA.
Selected as an alternate for the National Artist in Residence program at Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, PA.
Teaches classes and workshops at the Foundry Art Centre, the St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis Community College, and previously at Eureka Springs School of the Arts, in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Art fairs and events include the Merry Makers Market at the Foundry Art Centre, Wall Ball live painting fundraiser for Artscope, Cherokee Street Print Bazaar, Schlfly’s Art Outside, and Saint Louis Art Fair’s Emerging Artists as Entrepreneurs program.
ARTIST STATEMENT
As an abstract artist working intuitively with encaustic, fiber, and mixed media, the genesis for much of my work comes from memories, emotions, dreams, or inner reflections of my subconscious voice. I rely on play, exploration, and discovery, as each piece begins to take on a life of its own. My work often can be likened to synesthesia being distilled into one concrete experience.
The use offiber in combination with encaustic has allowed me to explore the interplay of textures, patterns, and colors in a way that feels organic and dynamic. I experiment with the ways in which these materials interact with one another. By incorporating traditional craft techniques, including crocheting, knitting, and weaving, within a contemporary encaustic framework, I create ethereal and moody, dreamlike pieces. I aim to evoke an emotional response, connecting the viewer to the work, inspiring a sense of curiosity and wonder.
My work is an exploration of color, line, pattern, chaos, smoothness, and texture. The luminosity and subtlety of encaustic, paired with my practice of creating lines, shapes, and marks with the use of fiber creates a dynamic contrast, enticing the viewer to consider the process and history in the making of each piece. I strive to create a sense of depth and mystery, inviting the viewer to lose themselves in the layers. Ultimately, my hope is that my work invites the viewer to engage with their own senses and emotions.
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I utilize my design background when creating new works, considering color, composition, depth, texture, line, and pattern. I often work with fibers as a nontraditional form of mark-making. Some of my encaustic pieces rely on fiber alone as the element of color.
Time spent working in my studio becomes meditative, and I often get lost in the sensory experiences involved in the art-making process – the smell of the beeswax heating up, the dragging of a loaded brush as the medium cools and solidifies, the heat from my palette and fusing tools, and the breeze in the studio from the fan used to ventilate the space. I enjoy getting lost in light and shadow, subtleties of color, texture and smoothness, temperature fluctuations, smells of encaustic and oil sticks, flow and drag, sounds of wind through the trees, the scent of freshly fallen rain, shapes and colors of clouds, reflections of water, rhythmic dancing of tall grasses, dreams, and daydreams.
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