Liz Rae Dalton
BIO
Liz Rae Dalton creates art as a form of personal advocacy for the earth, women, and human connections. With diverse media and processes including carving, torching, molten encaustic, drawing and painting, Liz journeys through her work with a spirit of purpose and adventure.
While living on an island in the St. Lawrence River Liz came face to face with nature in all of its forms making her a direct witness to climate change inspiring sculptures and paintings that speak for the earth.
Weather, water, storms, floods, night sky, flora and fauna find their way into sculpture and paintings featuring up-cycled finds and salvaged wood. Sensory molten encaustic paint from bees and trees embellishes many works.
Recent drawing and text-based projects advocating for women and human connections include Haiku for Lovers (drawing as a response to poetry with Odeni Sheer, published 2020), and 100Women100YearsArt, drawing and biographies of women with Kathy Piercy, exhibited 2020 Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre).
“I am passionate about art making. It’s a response to my daily life. I thrive most when the process is adventurous and close to my heart”.
Artist Statement
Natura and Reaching ….White
In 2017 and 2019 shocking high water flooding devastated the shorelines and watery habitats of the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes. Seasonal changes in climate had been happening for years on my island, but these floods triggered new ‘apocalyptic’ levels of concern for me.
Mysteriously, during flooding a powerful current delivered masses of driftwood directly to my shoreline that ultimately became ‘gifted’ source material for sculptures to explore my feelings of devastation/loss/climate grief.
During the creative process the sculptural works began to take on an iconic stature. When an undeniable beauty was held within each piece I accepted it as a hopeful nod to Mother Nature’s incredible resilience in the face of crisis.
White textural encaustic paint (purified beeswax and damar resin tree sap hardener) was an intentional choice to embellish the found wood for Natura and Reaching.
A purifying transformative white veil suggests a higher realm.
Perhaps white is healing.
Perhaps a message of hope.
