Upwards Art

STUDIO #16A

Artist Statement

I’m a mixed media and encaustic artist based in Owen Sound, Ontario. I work mostly with beeswax, pigment, collage, and printmaking to build layered surfaces that hold a bit of history within them. Encaustic is a process that uses molten wax and heat, so the work is constantly being fused, carved, scraped back, and rebuilt. I love that the earlier layers never completely disappear — they stay visible and become part of the final piece.

Living on Georgian Bay influences the colours and atmosphere in my work, but my paintings aren’t really about the landscape itself. Instead, I use images like birds, kites, and hot air balloons as symbols of movement, resilience, and the idea of rising above whatever life throws at us. There’s usually a bit of humour or sarcasm tucked in there too. Growth isn’t always graceful, and sometimes the best thing we can do is keep floating upward anyway.

Before becoming a full-time artist, I studied Near Eastern Archaeology and Canadian History at Wilfrid Laurier University and later completed a postgraduate certificate in Museum Management and Curatorship at Fleming College.

I run Upwards Art in Owen Sound, where I teach encaustic and mixed media workshops and operate an art supply shop. I’m also the lead organizer of the Canadian Encaustic Conference and work on a number of community art initiatives in the region.

— Amelia Kraemer

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