Introducing our artist partner, Lonnie Zarem who paints in encaustic monotypes. She layers imagery by printing on both sides of the paper and employs fine art principles to create depth, movement, and an expressive form.
“The fluid and unstable nature of the encaustic media offers unique freedoms to explore layering, depth, line, and color all while preparing for a pull off print. This invites an energetic, physical, and immediate focus which can be dynamically expressed on rice papers. This expressive process is inherently exploratory and offers me endless possibilities to express the fundamental truths I search for.”
A LOOK INSIDE THE ARTIST’S STUDIO
What inspires you to make art?
“I have always been fundamentally inspired by my relationship with the natural world. I want to experience the special moments that arrive from being aware, when it’s most beautiful, when it’s most simple, when it’s most profound, when contrasts are arresting. I want to visually capture it in my mind before it’s gone, to register it in a pure, simple, and honest way. I look to see things raw, wild, and unbundled from the demands of daily life. It’s my intention to capture natures’ announcements of change, of transition. I am urged to respond and interpret these moments in terms of the emotion and meaning they have for me, to make these moments seeable, and shareable! I hope to bring in the viewer and to help connect them to the environment they live in, to see it is there to be loved, appreciated, and cared for. I hope to invite people to get involved and be stewards of our lands, plants, and animals.”
Who or what influences your style?
“What most influences my style resides in how I am inspired by the world around me, my understanding and use of materials, and finally my “style” as it relates to my sense of energy, my sense of beauty, my passion, and most importantly, the freedom to be totally honest when expressing myself. This tends to result in energized work with a lot of color, contrast, and movement. I like to express emotions and memories which lends itself to semi-abstract work, still recognizable. My “style “ is driven from the inside”
It’s my intention to capture natures’ announcements of change, of transition. I am urged to respond and interpret these moments in terms of the emotion and meaning they have for me, to make these moments seeable, and shareable!
Sum up your current art practice in one sentence.
“I try to “see” and capture the quick moments, memories, and experiences I have in nature – the awe of those moments.”
Do you create spontaneously or are you a planner?
“I consider myself both a planner and a spontaneous creator as they both have a place in the overall process I enjoy. I start by being aware of what is intriguing me at the moment, then I seem to see a vision of an image that reflects my memory, my thought, or a quick moment in nature that captivates me. I then start the planning process of how I might create this image in wax and possibly other materials. The choices depend on the looseness of the piece, the palette I want, the level of abstraction or reality I hope to capture. I think through the different layers of the image I will develop and in what order. I lay out the palette. Then, I begin. Once I begin, I give myself the freedom to strath from the plan, respond to what I have done and determine what to do next. I stop thinking so intensely about the process and bring myself back to the moment, to feel it, to be in it, and to respond spontaneously! It is this combination that helps me create a technically sound piece that embodies the energy and passion I feel in the moment.”
List recent publications you and your work have been featured in.
Palo Alto Weekly, September 2023
Palo Alto Monthly , November 2023
PUNCH Magazine , December 2023
International Encaustic Artists; FUSED magazine
Fall Edition Edition 2024 (September 2024)
IEA Board Award for Excellence, for Encaustic Monotype “Fields of Spring”
International Encaustic Artists; FUSED magazine
Spring Issue 2024 (May 2024-November 2024
22 page Article “ Encaustic Monotype; My Process”
Encaustic Arts Magazine (Encaustic Artists Institute)
Spring Edition 2024 (June 1 2024- December 1 2024)
25 page Article “ Encaustic Monotypes; An Ongoing Exploration
International Encaustic Artists; “ Mentor Notes” Publication
How do you see your work evolving and what new mediums or themes do you hope to explore?
“I see my work evolving as I grow, as I see the world differently, as my awareness of what is going on around me shifts and changes. I see the work change as I find new inspiration in places, people, and experience more of what life has to give. I look for my work to evolve and improve as I continuously experiment with new materials that will enable me to be express the energy, freedom, and beauty I experience.”
What have collectors said about your work?
“Lonnie’s paintings have radiated with a vibrant energy, blending swirling, abstract forms and rich, dynamic colors to create a visually captivating experience. I asked my friend to introduce me to Lonnie and I immediately bought several of her most favorite paintings. Lonnie skillfully combines soft, ethereal strokes with bold patches of vibrant hues, evoking a sense of motion and depth that draws the eye deeper into the scene. The movements and complexity of paintings are very impressive and immersive.” ~ Susan, Z., private client
What life experiences have influenced your art the most?
“Probably the most important influence in my life was watching my father work at home. He is a brilliant self taught mechanical engineer and one of the most creative souls I know. I would sit at his feet and draw while he worked tirelessly drawing at his drafting board in a room in our house. He would talk about his new ideas for a product or design, what it would do, who it would benefit, what it should look like. He talked till I could almost visualize the finished product myself. Then, he would design the roll forming machine that would make the parts or final product. He’d show me how a metal part would move through the different forming stages he was drawing out. Next he would take me to the shop to see the machines built and we’d watch parts being formed to end in a finished product. Then he’d bring me pictures of product installations. It was amazing. To see the fire in his eyes as he figured out puzzles and created something new, and to follow that through a detailed process to completion was amazing.
It was clear to me then, that we thought, visualized, and created similarly. And, that I could find or develop a process to make anything I could visualize. It is the challenge I enjoy today and that belief that takes me through the process to the finished art pieces. I’m most thankful to my father for showing me the way.”
Embrace Creatives hand-picks artists that rise to Andrea’s high standards. In what ways do you feel your art business is professional?
“I work to maintain my values as an artist and a businesswoman, making it easy for my clients to work with me. My work reflects what is real and honest to me, always. My work must pass my high standards. I believe in being transparent, on time, and communicative.”
Describe a “great” studio day. 🙂
“A great day in the studio is when the light seems perfect, the temperature comfortable, the ideas seem to flow through my fingers, the color excites me, and the work just seems to flow on its own. I love the comfortable freedom I feel on those magical days.”
Tell us something fun about you.
“I am a very active person with many interests. I try to spend a great deal of time outdoors enjoying the world through travel, snowshoeing, skiing, scuba diving, sailing, pickleball, hiking, kayaking, and other sport related hobbies. I recently spent a year surfing in San Diego!
I also like to make many things with my hands; building a chicken coop was once a big project! I like to sew, to work with resin, to make flower arrangements, etc!
I just love to cycle through my interests while maintaining a core thread of making Encaustic monotypes.”
