Karen Tashkovski, BUNGALOW, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, GREEN HOUSE, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, PABLO, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”
I am delighted to reintroduce The Bungalows! Created last year, these paintings went through a series of transformations. At first, I had mounted them on collaged chalkboards. They felt too busy. I decided to switch out the chalkboards in favor of these 8″ x 10″ hardboards then framed them in the same frames I used for the Fan-Girl series of paintings.
But that still didn’t feel right. Yesterday I reframed them and I am now very satisfied with this version. I love them!
Many of the collage materials attached to these paintings were items I found while metal detecting the yard of my one-hundred-twenty-six-year-old home. So, this series is very personal to me because it is about me and all the other people who have lived in and loved my home. The paintings represent the little houses that sort of encompass my neighborhood even though they are all technically mine. My corner of the world. I know there are people out there who love the Arts & Crafts movement, who find joy in the craftsman style and can relate to this cherished history.
I recently acquired another venue for a future art exhibition and will inform you of the details as soon as tomorrow. There is a possibility that these paintings will get another show soon, but I am still pondering what to do, as I will be having multiple shows happening at once, which is crazy. So much is happening!
Karen Tashkovski, MAN CAVE, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, CRAFTSMAN, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, KNOCK-KNOCK, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, JINGLE, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, JASPER, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, HUNTED, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, BRIGHTEN, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, SALT CITY, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, PRINCESS, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, AVON LADY, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, GARDEN PARTY, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, JAMES STREET, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, FORGET ME NOT, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, COTTAGE, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, GOOD LUCK, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, FUSE, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, SYRACUSE, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, THE FARM, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, DREAM SQUASHERS, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, WELCOME, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, GEORGIE, 2024, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”
Karen Tashkovski, LIFE SUPPORT, 2026, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, HANDBAG, 2026, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”
I just completed this collection of twenty-four paintings. I am fascinated by the handbags depicted in ancient civilization bas-reliefs and sculptures across continents.
I created twenty-four different stencils to carve into ,my 6″ x 6″ hardboards. Then I used encaustics (and paper collage) to add color and texture.
Karen Tashkovski, TOOLKIT, 2026, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, PURSE, 2026, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”
I painted the backing board with both chalkboard paint and magnetic paint, as the mysterious handbags of old were perhaps electromagnetic in nature.
Then I added collage items that reflect my own history, as well as my signature arsenal of devices: game pieces, keys, ribbon, jewelry, wood chips and bobbins.
The fleur-de-lis dominoes have a beautiful patina, as they are new ones mixed with vintage pieces, which I love.
Karen Tashkovski, DEVICE, 2026, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, BACKPACK, 2026, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”
All are framed and ready for their conquest of the world.
There is such a rewarding feeling of validation and joy to the completion of a new series. I will bask in that after-glow while contemplating what to do next – possibly a second set of these or incorporating the handbags into a larger work, or, or, or?
Karen Tashkovski, CLUTCH, 2026, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”Karen Tashkovski, CARRYALL, 2026, encaustic & collage, 8” x 10”
Yesterday was a day of art immersion – two art shows and a fabulous day spent with my friend and fellow artist, Penny Santy. In conversation, I kept going back to this series, thinking about what I wanted its journey to be and truthfully, it would be amazing if someone wanted to buy them all and keep them together, because I feel like they are meant to be together.
But then, I think about how the ancient handbags are found in South America, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq. They stump archeologists as to their function. Maybe my handbags will be separated and valued individually, and treated with questionable mystery by the viewers who encounter them.
Karen Tashkovski, ROSEBUD, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, LIKE, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, MERMAID, 2016, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”
I just completed photographing the new collection of heart paintings. They are encaustic and collage, 5″ x 7″ on hardboard mounted on 9″ x 12″ chalkboard and framed.
Photographs do not do them justice. They are really vibrant in person and so full of texture.
Karen Tashkovski, SUNSHINE, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, LOVELY, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, HEARTY, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, WARMTH, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, LOVE POTION, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, BESTIE, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, FORTUNATE, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, FRIENDSHIP, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski KINDLY, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, SEXY, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, JUICY, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, PURELY, 2016, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, EVERLASTING, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, FAITHFULLY, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, FRESH, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, SWEET, 2026 encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, LOVING, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, LOVE LETTER, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, ROMANCE, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, SWELL, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”Karen Tashkovski, SPLENDID, 2026, encaustic & collage, 9” x 12”
Karen Tashkovski, CROWNING GLORY, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collageKaren Tashkovski, THE LUCKY ONE, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collageKaren Tashkovski, COIN PRINCESS, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collage
While taking a course in encaustic painting at Syracuse University in 2012, I created these paintings. This week, I revisited them and decided to remove them from their larger chalkboard mounts to hardboard cradle mounts.
I also wanted these 9″ x 12″ paintings to reflect the devices I’d used in the 8″ x 8″ crown series I completed last month, adding embroidery floss, ribbon, more playing cards and checkers, as well as cold wax accents and enamel paint.
Karen Tashkovski, WEDDING CROWN, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collageKaren Tashkovski, ROYAL GAMER, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collage
I love that these paintings have a luster that comes with age. Time allows the wax to strengthen and the result is a marvelous sheen that only needs a bit of gentle buffing.
There are eleven paintings here because the one I’d titled Modern Pharoah is MIA. In my attempt to locate it, I found other things and made a note to self to take a day and reorganize my art storage and material storage.
Will Modern Pharoah materialize so that I can resurrect it? (No coincidences)
Karen Tashkovski, VALENTINA, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collageKaren Tashkovski, FOR JASPER, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collageKaren Tashkovski, ORANGE JACK, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collageKaren Tashkovski, QUEEN, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collageKaren Tashkovski, NAVY KING, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collageKaren Tashkovski, MONARCH, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collageKaren Tashkovski, MODERN PHAROAH, 2012/2026, 9” x 12”, encaustic & collage
Yesterday I experienced a meltdown. I was adding the hardware to the backs of the frames and it was taking longer than I wanted it to, which led me to the inevitable existential crisis – what am I even doing and why??????
I took a mini-break to collect myself then continued until I finished that task. I went for a hike, came home and had lunch then continued to tweak the paintings.
Adding the collage materials makes me feel a bit like a fashion stylist. The items should enhance each individual painting while creating a cohesiveness that is essential for the overall arch of the series.
I began to have clarity and after hours of work… suffice to say that the new gold enamel paint had been delivered and I decided, at midnight that I had to apply it. The gold to me represents the Japanese art of kintsugi. So, it felt like a culmination of the emotional journey of this day.
I didn’t love it but I kept at it because it had worked nicely on the Lotus paintings. But it WASN’T WORKING!!!!
This morning I spent several hours removing it. A painstaking process but one that was entirely necessary. Metaphorically, it felt like I was erasing the negativity and the desire to fix something that is broken with something better, as kintsugi is known to do. It is supposed to be a form of respect.
But these new paintings weren’t broken. And they do not have any sort of negative emotion or melancholy infused in them. They are my trees – the ones I visit every day while on my hike. And if you believe in animism, they are strong, loving creatures that support one another in a storm, that provide shelter from the rain, that reach for the sun at all costs.
I wiped away the residue, like wiping away the tears I had shed earlier, and decided that what I am doing is important, because it is fun – and that is all that matters.
I am still waiting for a back order of frames and there is still more work to be done on this artwork because it is all about the layers – the depth of character and all that hidden stuff that creates my visual language.
It started snowing at 9:00 AM and now, at 5:00 PM we have already had what I think is eighteen inches of snow. It has been relentless, but, no biggie, because we all knew it was coming.
So happy that my art studio is in my house because I’ve been working all day. I added to the crown paintings – they are almost done.
Before I did that, I heated up the beeswax-filled crockpot then placed three coats of wax on 6″ x 8″ Ampersand hardboards and then traced the tree stencils onto them.
There are twenty-four boards and each will have a different tree design. They are fresh and modern, and fun! I’m excited. I am an avid hiker. I finally realized that trees should be an important part of my encaustic iconography. Today was the day!
In fact, I had a realization about my artwork that I will share with you soon. My series of crowns, horses, fans, bungalows, hearts, targets and now trees are all connected and I hope that they can all be shared together in one (or more) large gallery in the near future.
The overlap is a bit out of control focus-wise because, let’s face it, we are all attracted to the new thing, the latest thing. I don’t want to rush the conclusion of these crowns. I may have rushed adding collage materials today – I will allow the experience to digest and look at the work again with a fresh perspective later tonight or tomorrow.
I am loving my productivity though. I think I am an Existentialist and this is my purpose. A vocation rather than a business. I trust that the business and financial element will follow because I have already secured so many shows for 2026.
In that realm, next up is the Art Haus group show with a drop off in late February and the reception scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2026 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM. I will be at the East Syracuse Free Library during May and June 2026, the Fayetteville Free Library in July 2026, the Hazard Branch Library in August 2026 and the drop off for another group exhibition in mid August at the Edgewood Gallery. That show will be up through October 3, 2026.
Penny Santy, Michelle Keib, John Paul Gardner, Robin Cortese and Karmin Schafer are the artists exhibiting in the new show at Art Haus (120 Walton Street, Syracuse, New York 13202). Marianna Raineri-Schwarzer has put together a lovely show for us to ponder – the exhibit is called Ponderance.
Penny Santy has been represented by Art Haus for the past year. If you want to buy something of hers, you must act fast. She sold two paintings at the reception yesterday and possibly more – I left before it was over. Penny is also a graphic artist.
Michelle Keib comes from a family of artists. Although she is self taught, she is quite proficient in her renderings and her line quality is exceptional.
John Paul Gardner is a trained artist/scupltor and art teacher from Utica, New York. His artwork here – paper collages that he plans to use as paper maquettes for future sculptures.
This is Robin Cortese’s first foray into sharing her paintings. She brought a slew of collectors (from her charitable fund raising volunteering) to the reception (and cookies!). I think she sold everything in her collection.
Texture is a big component in Karmin Shafer’s artwork. I did not see her at the reception so no photo. Hers were the curled birchwood pieces and some abstract text paintings.
Sickler’s mixed media collage pieces dominate the walls. Nicoletti is doing double duty as jeweler with hand made copper items – necklaces, earrings and rings in the jewelry case – and glass sculptures on the shelves.
Nicoletti is an art professor at Syracuse University. Sickler is a former art professor. They worked together in the ’90s.
If you are in the vicinity of Little Falls, New York, there is a little festival happening this weekend (Dec 12, 13, 14, 2025). In addition to the activities listed, the shops are open during their regular hours through Christmas.
I have two paintings for sale at Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts, 410 Canal Place, Little Falls, NY. They created a show of work priced at $100 and below to encourage art enthusiasts to purchase art as gifts for the holidays and to buy local.
The Race, 18″ x 18″, 2012, encaustic, $125
You will be getting a deal because these are normally $125! They are from my first horse series created in 2012 – encaustic & collage, 12″ x 12″ mounted on 18″ x 18″ chalkboard painted masonite.
