Mixed media artist Elizabeth Hubler-Torrey presents a collection of contemporary sculpture inspired by sea life. View more of her portfolio by visiting her website.
“Flos Echinum I (Flower Urchin I)” encaustic, pastel and acrylic on birch cradle, 12″ x 12″ x 2″
My work is a profound exploration of the delicate balance within our natural world. It echoes my deep concern for conservation, climate change, and ocean acidification. My creative process merges the ancient art of encaustic technique I bring to painting and hand-molded sculptures, to engage with the interconnectedness of different environments and living organisms. By reinterpreting amoebas, microbes, bacteria, fungi, fossils, sea life, and corals, I aim to bring to life an organic skin through a symphony of high relief and texture.
“Flos Echinum II (Flower Urchin II)” encaustic and pastel on birch cradle, 12″ x 12″ x 2″
My artwork is recognizable by its internal luminosity. This is achieved through the use of naturally bleached beeswax and damar resin. The medium grants my art a unique versatility. It transitions from hard to pliable forms through atmospheric layering, glazing, and various techniques that evoke both subtlety and depth. To me, beeswax symbolizes organic transformation. It mirrors early evolutionary, geological, and biological processes.
“Parva Specimens (Small Specimens)” encaustic, cold wax and oil on birch cradled panels, 12 – 12″ x 12″ x 2″
My choice of subject matter is driven by an attraction to the forms and transparency of sea life and their dynamic interactions with their surroundings. Negative space and activating space call to me. They guide me to shapes that engage with their environment, creating surfaces for my transparent colorwork.
“Ocean View Sinularia Dura (Blue/Green Full Color Cabbage Coral)” encaustic pastel, ink and silk on birch base with clear acrylic case, 6″ x 6″ x 6″
Inspired by scientific exploration, I find beauty and intrigue in the textures of sea life, amoebas, corals, and microbes. My art does not merely depict these organisms. It celebrates their textural diversity, from smooth surfaces to richly tactile forms.
“Sea Anemone” encaustic, pastel and oil on birch, 10″ x 10″ x 10″
My technique stands apart due to my constant trial and error approach to my wax creations. I have honed unique hand-forming methods, while crafting transparent and stable wax shapes. I have developed anchoring systems that allow for deep relief effects when attaching works to walls and surfaces. That adds another layer of complexity and dimensionality to my body of work.
“Northern Purple Red Sea Anemone (Maine Coast Sea Anemone)” encaustic pastel, wire and birch base, 9″ x 10” x 10”
Through my art, I aim to highlight the beauty found in nature’s minutiae while engaging viewers in a broader dialogue about the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges. My hope is this body of work will resonate with the viewer a feeling of the primordial and interconnectedness with all forms of life, the preciousness of our environment, our responsibility for the ecosystem, animals, and to be stewards of the planet.
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