Dietlind Vander Schaaf
I am an artist and teacher. I work primarily with encaustic paint, which is a molten, pigmented beeswax-based paint. I describe my paintings as the place where the inner landscape and the outer landscape meet. Through texture, pattern, mark making, and color, I convey an emotional tone of calm-centeredness. There is a strong narrative underpinning present. Each painting is a poem of sorts.
My work references teachings from Zen Buddhism, Christian mysticism, the poetic traditions, and contemplative practices including yoga and meditation. I am influenced by writings on meditation and quiet by Pico Iyer, Jon Kabat-Zinn, David Hinton, and Gordon Hessler, as well as the minimal work of artists Agnes Martin, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Zarina Hashmi, and far too many poets to name.
Mattina by Dietlind Vander Schaaf
