Quimby: Erin Landry Fowler
Erin Landry Fowler, our 2023 Quimby Fellowship awardee, attended a two-week encaustics workshop at Haystack with Pamela Smith Hudson.
This summer I was honored to receive a Quimby Fellowship from the MAEA and spend two weeks at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Having attended several MAEA Fall Conferences at Haystack in the past, I was excited to kick off my summer vacation with an intensive art-making experience, and Haystack did not disappoint!
Through this amazing annual award, I could select a workshop from Haystack’s summer session offerings; I chose an Encaustics workshop as I was eager to continue exploring a medium I had only previously dabbled with.
Our instructor, artist Pamela Smith Hudson, led us through several encaustics techniques and encouraged us to experiment. Over the two weeks, I created translucent window collages from strips of fabric and handmade paper dipped in the beeswax medium, rock-like wall sculptures from cardboard covered in layers of encaustic, and assemblages consisting of wood and black and white photographs of the Maine landscape. To say that this experience pushed me and my artwork in new directions is an understatement!
Further, I got to spend two weeks on Haystack’s gorgeous campus with lots of wonderful, creative people. Despite some unusually wet weather, my fellow classmates and I went on hikes, swam in the (frigid!) ocean, and explored the towns of Deer Isle and Stonington. And of course one cannot talk about Haystack without mentioning the incredible food, which probably ruined me on my own cooking for life.
I am so grateful for the opportunity that the MAEA and the Quimby Family Foundation gave me, and I highly encourage you all to apply for this fellowship in the future. It is truly a gift to have the time and the space to devote to your own artwork, especially knowing that as an art teacher you provide that gift to your students every day.
