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BRIDGET BENTON is a mixed-media artist, art instructor and the author of the award-winning workshop-in-a-book The Creative Conversation: ArtMaking as Playful Prayer. She earned a B.A. in Studio Art from Colorado College and an M.S. in Creative Studies from the State University of NY. Benton has worked and taught in a variety of creative mediums since 1988 including fiber, photography, printmaking, collage, reclaimed materials, text and performance. Her work has appeared in galleries across the United States. Since 2006, she has been working in encaustic as her primary medium. Encaustic allows Benton to incorporate her photographs and nature prints into paintings that explore themes of memory, home, and belonging with a depth, subtlety, and luminosity unavailable in other media.
“I use found materials, maps, original photographs and image transfers, drawings, and even plant prints as symbols – letting them take on meanings beyond themselves. These symbols come together in layers of semi-transparent encaustic paint or acrylic collage to create narratives that are at once deeply personal and profoundly universal. Even though I often begin a piece with a general concept or focal point, I work intuitively, building layers, and a story emerges. I am frequently surprised by the meanings I discover in a piece once it feels complete. I encourage viewers to explore the images and find their own stories.” - Bridget Benton
In 2017, after moving to Asheville, NC from Portland, OR, she joined the 310 ART Gallery and School as a resident artist and lead encaustic instructor.
BRIDGET BENTON is a mixed-media artist, art instructor and the author of the award-winning workshop-in-a-book The Creative Conversation: ArtMaking as Playful Prayer. She earned a B.A. in Studio Art from Colorado College and an M.S. in Creative Studies from the State University of NY. Benton has worked and taught in a variety of creative mediums since 1988 including fiber, photography, printmaking, collage, reclaimed materials, text and performance. Her work has appeared in galleries across the United States. Since 2006, she has been working in encaustic as her primary medium. Encaustic allows Benton to incorporate her photographs and nature prints into paintings that explore themes of memory, home, and belonging with a depth, subtlety, and luminosity unavailable in other media.
“I use found materials, maps, original photographs and image transfers, drawings, and even plant prints as symbols – letting them take on meanings beyond themselves. These symbols come together in layers of semi-transparent encaustic paint or acrylic collage to create narratives that are at once deeply personal and profoundly universal. Even though I often begin a piece with a general concept or focal point, I work intuitively, building layers, and a story emerges. I am frequently surprised by the meanings I discover in a piece once it feels complete. I encourage viewers to explore the images and find their own stories.” - Bridget Benton
In 2017, after moving to Asheville, NC from Portland, OR, she joined the 310 ART Gallery and School as a resident artist and lead encaustic instructor.
Ceci Nest pas un Odalisque, Encaustic, 24 x 12
Dreaming of Spring, Encaustic, 20 x 10
Dreaming of Summer, Encaustic, 24 x 24
Into Eden, Encaustic, 24 x 18
Navigating the Storm (dyptich), Encaustic, 24 x 36
Wedlock and Key, Encaustic and Mixed Media, 16 x 20
Where The Work Gets Done (diptyc), Encaustic, 16 x 24
Inside Outside, encaustic, 18 x24
Planting So The Heart Will Grow, encaustic, photo transfer and nature print, 24 x 24
Making Home, encaustic, image transfer, oil and nature print, 10 x 20
She Loved the Sound of the Rain, encaustic and mixed media, 36 x 16
The Fire Releases the Seed, encaustic, 10 x 40
Daydream, encaustic, 24 x 24
Where The Work Gets Done, encaustic, 24 x 16
Rooted, encaustic, 12 x 36