A new year has given me the impetus to refocus my studio efforts. I learned a trick from a YouTube video about British artist Ryan Gander. He covers a wall of his studio with index cards, each having an idea for a project or an art piece. He uses this wall anytime he needs a new idea to work on, or to prevent creative blocks. Inspired, I bought a pack of index cards and let my ideas flow. The “murder board” in my studio has a handful of these cards pinned to it, and I actually started a couple of projects over the past few weeks.

I started to revisit my work with encaustics, and have been combining it with images from my “Burn Index” project. The bleached, burned prints take on an interesting character when a coating of melted wax is applied. I like the metaphoric idea of fire and heat being further inflicted on the photos, which are mostly images from the desert of Arizona. Knowing most new year resolutions ultimately fail, I think the card approach is a more dependable way to keep busy and inspired in the studio.