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American Threads , 11" x 8" x 2.5"
Artist's Statement
Primarily using encaustic collage, I create images inspired by books, icons, words and letters - even math. I indulge my love of words, letters, text, type and books. I'm also fascinated with the look and shape of books - their resemblance to diptychs - all those pages covered in words - the way they can stand on their own. I use all of these, and alter them in various ways. Many of the words and poetry in my life come from music, and you can find some of them in my work. The look of a page of handwriting, almost a lost art, is a beautiful thing, and traces of that find their way in too, often written in my own version of asemic writing - writing without semantic meaning.
As usual, maps and mail are ever present in my work. Nothing seems complete without a trace of one or the other. Of course, creatures abound, and sometimes they get to be the main focus of my attention, as can be seen by my sculptures of birds, bees and others.
Whatever I put into my art, it always includes the joy of creation, the love of art, and the happiness in my ability to create it.
Most of my current work is encaustic collage. Encaustic - painting with hot wax - is a medium that was used by the ancient Greeks as far back as 400 BC, I am using it in an eclectic manner - adding elements of my digital images and drawings, watercolors, photographs, many other bits and pieces (including stamps and maps, of course). I love the way beeswax creates both physical and visual depth and translucency to the work - adding to the mystery and magic I’m trying to convey.
Using encaustic collage, Jeanne Borofsky creates objects that are both book and icon. There is no textual narrative—pages are cut to be illegible, or actual text is obscured—so the viewer, aided by symbols and objects, is given to intuitive deciphering. Joanne Mattera, curator, Wax Libris at Montserrat College, 2009.
Jeanne Borofsky, BFA, MFA, is internationally recognized, with paintings, prints and drawings in numerous museums and private collections. She was born in New Hampshire, and after several moves settled in Groton with her husband Jerr. They have two grown children, Nate and Anna. Jeanne has been a practicing artist for over 40 years. She has produced watercolors, paintings made with rubber stamps, and traditional, photographic & digital prints. She now works with encaustic, as well as the computer, collage, assemblage and various types of printmaking. Jeanne also works as a part-time Digital Imaging Specialist and Graphic Designer, and is the current president of New England Wax.
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