Endless labor, insecurity, and gratification describe the process of both a mother and an artist. I am a multi-disciplinary artist exploring the connection between these roles. Forgotten family photographs and vintage ephemera are the foundation for my narrative work, examining constructed histories that still shape current societal expectations.
These narratives are assembled using cyanotype prints, a camera-less photography method. The distinctive blue print implies a sense of memory and nostalgia. I use elements of chance and movement between the sun, shadows and water to create these dynamic silhouettes. Layers of encaustic, a wax based medium, is dripped, scraped, and fused across the surface to highlight meaning.
My parallel encaustic practice focuses on the abstract use of color and form to consider ideas of boundary, constriction and movement. I assemble ambiguous shapes and bold splashes of color within the edges of framed artwork. Micro environments of chaos and order assemble side by side. Encaustic becomes fluid with the addition of heat, and slowly cures into a luminous shell over time. In this way, the process requires spontaneity and patience.
By choosing process-heavy methods like cyanotype and encaustic, I force a tactile engagement between myself and my work. Each piece is built with multiple steps from prepping surfaces, to cutting apart and assembling images, to scraping and layering materials. As the work progresses, the fatigue builds in my muscles and my mind, mirroring the act of caretaking, a practice that requires constant attention and spontaneity, and often shows invisible progress, requiring years of patience.
Biography
Michele Randall is a visual artist and instructor. Her abstract and narrative work utilizes a range of mediums focusing on more traditional and process heavy techniques. She earned an MFA in printmaking at Penn State University. Her university teaching experience includes printmaking, foundations in drawing and foundations in painting. Currently she conducts group workshops and individual instruction in encaustic and cyanotype printmaking across the United States. She is represented by the Roaring Artist Gallery, https://www.roaringartistgallery.com/ and shows her work regularly in brick-and-mortar and virtual locations.
Education
2016
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA , Teaching Certification
2013
Penn State University, State College, PA , MFA Printmaking
1988
Penn State University, State College, PA , BS Marketing
Awards and Honors
2022
Women United, Short List, collage and textile category
Awakening the Furor, Honorable mention
2020
Landis House 1st place mixed media
2019
Honorable Mention Images Show, State College, PA
2017
Honorable Mention Images Show, State College, PA
Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, Teaching Grant
2016
Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, Elder Share the Arts Teaching grant
Residencies and Workshops
2023
Truro Castle Hill, Truro, MA
2021
Landscape & the Mark, Waitsfield, VT
Photo-transfer, R&F Studios, Kingston, NY
2019
Linea Pinea, Spain, 2-month residency
2017
Brison Veor, United Kingdom, 2-week residency
2016
HayStack School of Craft, Maine, USA, 2-week residency
Bibliography
2022
Cyanotype and Wax, IEA Encaustic Magazine
2021
Firsts, Collective Wisdom Magazine
2020
Wearing the Crown of Crones, Collective Wisdom Magazine
Printing with the Sun, Collective Wisdom Magazine
2019
State College Food Magazine, Issue 2
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
2023 Suspended, Perry County Council of the Arts, Newport, PA
2022 Borders and Boundaries, Kish Bank Gallery, State College, PA
2021 Under Water, Otto’s Gallery, State College, PA
2018 And Many Returns, Schlow Library, State College
2014 Wax, Paper, Scissors, Zola New World Bistro, Pennsylvania
2013 Re-Collection, Solo Show, Penn State University
Group
2022 Storytelling, Showbox Arts, Los Angeles, CA, online exhibit
Awakening the Furor, The Roaring Artist Gallery (www.roaringartistgallery.com)
The Most Possible Kind, Les Idees Gallery, Duquesne University, PA
Taking Up Space, Ketchup City Creative, Pittsburgh, PA
Convergence, Art Center, Morro Bay, CA
Intimacies, Port Jarvis, NY
2021
Encased in Wax, Roaring Artist Gallery, (www.roaringartistgallery.com)
Spectrum, Stay at Home Gallery, Paris, TN
Women in the Arts, You Are Here Gallery, Jeannette, PA
Landis House Juried Show, Newport, PA
2020
Juried Festival, Beaux Arts Festival, Miami, FL
2019
Water Ways, Annmarie Sculpture Garden, Solomons, MD
Beached, Oceanside Gallery, Rota, Spain
Images Show, State College, PA
2018
Featured Artist, The Makery PA, State College, PA
Worked in Wax, Bellefonte Museum of Art, Bellefonte, PA
