Heraldry
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Found Money 2026 (Episode 6)
More found money! Added a dime and a quarter to my 2026 collection. Up to ninety-nine cents.
Road Trip in Rain Finds Garden on Main
I took a road trip today to visit Main Street Arts, 20 W. Main Street, Clifton Springs, New York 14432. My painting, Mustang Dance, will be in the next group show, Horse Power!, which opens Saturday, June 6, 2026 with a reception from 3:00 – 6:00 PM..
The current display, The Garden Within, will be up until May 27, 2026.
The abstract work in this collection was created by former Arts-in-Education colleagues Sara Michalak and Jari Poulin. For more information about them click here.
This is a beautiful art gallery! I’m in love with this place. It is worth a visit – rain or shine! My trip was 100% rainy, lol, but so worth it.
I will be back on June 6th for the Horse Power! opening. Join me if you can. It will be nothing but horses-horses-horses-horses…..
The Heraldic Shields
Here are the twenty-four encaustic & collage paintings that I literally just finished.
I am very excited to announce that these paintings, along with the encaustic & collage target paintings, Arcadia 1 and Arcadia 2, will be in an exhibition at the Canastota Public Library (102 Center St., Canastota, New York 13032) during the month of June 2026!!!
Photographs never do my work any sort of justice – they are very colorful and layered with texture. You really need to experience them in person.
They will be for sale during the show.
Ann’s World View
Ann Clarke is one of four artists selected by the CNY Arts Initiative to exhibit artwork in that gallery I call the crawl space (it is actually the Member’s Art Council gallery tucked into the corner of nowheresville) in the Everson Museum of Art, 401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York 13202.
The work here is all new and is a study in the contemplation of family, life, mortality and the camaraderie of the sewing circle – techniques and skills passed down through the generations preserving and respecting this predominantly female handiwork while creating a modern tapestry, which she refers to as “Under the Canopy”, implying both the idea of a landscape as subject matter, as well as the broader landscape of shared experiences in community and education.
The work is fresh and new, and yet, masterful and mature. To take a medium like rug making and turn it into an emotional infusion of love and all the heartbreak that unfolds from that to the extent that the art breathes, well, it is exquisitely sublime.
The only thing that would have made this show better is if Ann had created a rug that was actually displayed on the cold cement floor, allowing the community to walk upon it in order to participate in the group spirit of said canopy. I mean, it would get dirty, but that is kind of the point, that life presents unexpected challenges and hardships – that art is both a pursuit in solitude and an opportunity to connect with people, reminding us that we are not alone – not ever, really. <3
The exhibit runs through June 7, 2026.
Hours:
Mon./Tues: Closed
Wed. 11:00am – 5:00pm
Thurs. 11:00am – 8:00pm
Fri. 11:00am – 5:00pm
Sat. 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sun. 10:00am – 5:00pm
Heraldry
On Friday night, I went to the spring art reception at the Everson Museum of Art (401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York 13202). While in the Robineau Gallery, I had a fully developed vision of an art exhibition of my own in that space. It was this strong realization that all of my various encaustic and collage series are creating a kingdom.
There are the houses, the landscape of trees and flowers, the fans, the crowns…and so I went home with the clear idea for my next series: heraldic shields.
You can see the progression here. I’ve been working on them all weekend and I am almost finished. I feel like they have always existed and I just pulled them out of the ether, the way I will manifest that dream art show.
I feel incredibly content. I will finish them in the next few days. There are twenty-four encaustic & collage paintings – 6″ x 8″ that will be mounted on 8″ x 10″ cradled hardboard and framed.
Then I will title them and photograph them.
And possibly make more. 🙂
Encaustic Horseshoes
I framed my encaustic horseshoe paintings. There are two sizes: 9″. 12″ and 11″ x 14″. Pictured here: the remainder of the two series. Many of these were sold when they hung on a wall in the lobby of Syracuse Yoga (in 2017).
Every home needs one of these, IMO. They are lucky!!!
Encaustic Horseshoes
Horses Refreshed
Seven of the twelve encaustic & collage paintings in this series of horses are left. I created them in 2012 and had previously mounted them on 18″ x 18″ chalkboard. Now the 12″ x 12″ masonite boards are mounted onto 12″ x 12″ cradled hardboards.
I also added collage items to some of them.
The Cow Has New Clothes
This collection of cows was part of the ensemble of about one hundred paintings I created during the six-week period in 2012 when I took the best Syracuse University course of my life – Encaustics with Davana Robedee.
They are 12″ x 12″ encaustic & collage paintings on 1/8″ masonite board that are now mounted onto cradled hardboards. Previously I had them mounted onto 18″ x 18″ chalkboards. This made the presentations much larger.
They look so much better now. Fresh and new. I also added collage materials to some of them. I did the same thing to the encaustic horse paintings – I will share those tomorrow.
I had originally created several cow stencils to be used in connection to a farm animal project I presented to first graders many years ago, so I had several stencils. Davana encouraged me to play with the animal shapes to allow for a more dynamic flow and this lead to the upside-down and backwards stuff. I know that some of them are rather unsettling.
Finding an audience for non-traditional constructions can be a challenge if I allow it to be, so I won’t let it be. I really love how weird they are.
