Dietlind Vander Schaaf
PROFESSIONAL ARTIST
Mastrius Artist Mentor
This artist is mentoring at Mastrius. Visit our How It Works page for membership details.
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MEDIUMS: Encaustic
SPECIALTY: ✔ Generalist
The Japanese word jikan refers to the silence between two thoughts. In this vein, my work is an attempt to render temporary, fleeting moments of beauty, balance, and stillness visible. 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.
My work is process-driven and references teachings from Zen Buddhism, Christian mysticism, the poetic traditions, and contemplative practices including yoga and meditation. I begin by building layers of encaustic (a wax-based paint) on the surface of a wood panel. Each of these layers must be carefully fused together with a heat gun or torch. I tend to work thick – meaning I build up layers, in some cases 50 or more over many hours.
I find the rhythm and the repetition helps to bring me into a meditative or flow state in which the world around me quiets and I become deeply absorbed in the process.
Dietlind’s EXPERTISE
Listed below are this Mentor’s specialty skills. Join this group if you want to grow in these areas.
Specialty: ✔ Generalist
Technical:
Color and Composition
Teaching to Self Critique
Providing Art Critiques
Technique Demos
Studio Setup for Art Production
Supplies and tools – what to use, where to save, and where to spend
Marketing:
Artist Statement & CV
Social Media
Shows & Exhibits
Marketing & Branding
Website Design
Business:
Pricing Artwork
Selling Online
Running Your Art Business – the Day to Day
Approaching Galleries
Studio Time Management
“Mastrius has done wonders for my confidence. I have managed to step way outside of my comfort zone which has in turn given rise to so many more opportunities to further my art career.”
~ Deb, Emerging Artist
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MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST
Dietlind Vander Schaaf holds an MFA from the University of San Francisco and an MA from the University of Southern Maine. Her work has been described as the transformation of “disparate objects into elegantly simple compositions of pattern and grace” (Artscope). Vander Schaaf has exhibited at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, Conrad Wilde Gallery, The Fuller Craft Museum, Kolman & Pryor, and On Center Gallery, among others, and been featured in Maine Home + Design, Decor Maine, Downeast Magazine, UPPERCASE, and Artscope.
Vander Schaaf is a Core Instructor for R&F Handmade Paints, an Ampersand Ambassador, and the former president of New England Wax. She is an annual presenter at the International Encaustic Conference and the recipient of grants from the Maine Arts Commission and International Encaustic Artists, as well as a Tending Space Artist Fellowship from the Hemera Foundation. Vander Schaaf has taught workshops throughout the country, including Haystack, Maine College of Art, Penland, Arrowmont, Castle Hill Center for the Arts, Snow Farm, Rhode Island School of Design, and internationally.
