Artist Statement
To me, art-making is a creative practice of exploration and play. I’m committed to carving out space in my life to show up and learn what it has to teach me about myself and my world.
Encaustic is a wonderfully versatile medium. I love the natural beauty of beeswax and the wide range of techniques that work with it. I’m drawn to the way encaustic painting engages my senses—the way that it looks, smells and feels. Encaustic painting is done in layers. It is a process of building up and scraping away to reveal what lies beneath the surface. Each layer of encaustic medium is fused using heat. Working with different fusing tools I can either maintain or eliminate texture.
My work celebrates the sculptural qualities inherent in wax. I’m creating art that is at once painting and sculpture— pushing the limits of the medium to build up texture with depth and dimension while using colour and patterning to emphasize the brushstrokes.
~ Ruth
Bio: Ruth Maude
she/her
Ruth Maude is a Canadian artist and blogger. Her work is in the permanent collection of The Museum of Encaustic Art, (MoEA) NM, and in private collections in Canada and the United States.
She paints with molten pigmented beeswax; this is an ancient medium called encaustic. Heat is used at every stage of the process to apply and fuse the medium.
The founder of the popular All Things Encaustic blog, she is constantly experimenting with a variety of encaustic materials, techniques and tools and sharing her discoveries with her readers.
A Web Designer and Instructor, she teaches Encaustic & WordPress workshops online.
C.V.
Ruth Maude, Toronto
ruthmaude@gmail.com
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
SELECTED JURIED & GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
2023
2022
2021
- Making Your Way Through Invitational| Southampton Arts, Southampton, ON
- Collective Experience Group Exhibition| Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto , ON
- LAYERS of MEANING International Encaustic Exhibition | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto
- Altered Images Group Exhibition| Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- SALON 15 Invitational | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Unfurled Artist Stories Members Exhibition| Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Mail Art: Unlimited Dada Group Exhibition| Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
2020
- Welcome Home Invitational | Riverwood Gallery & Studio, Allenford, ON
- PAG25 Members & Alumni Exhibition | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- SALON 14 Invitational | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Catch Phrase Group Exhibition| Neilson Park Creative Centre, Etobicoke, ON
2019
- CRE8TIVE – An Exploration in Mixed Media | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Summer Small Works Exhibition | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Heat, Arts Etobicoke Members Exhibition, Cloverdale Common, Etobicoke, ON
- EAG’s 55th Annual Juried Exhibition | Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery, Etobicoke, ON
- 12th Annual Open Juried Fine Art Show 2019 Juried by Lynne Schumacher | Beaux Arts Brampton Gallery, Brampton, ON
- In Praise of Oguni Washi | The Japanese Paper Place, Etobicoke, ON
- Blue | Bleu Impulse Juried Show | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Figure it Out Juried Show | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
2018
- Northern Tendencies Juried Show | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Headwaters Arts Annual Juried Show, Alton Mill Arts Centre, Alton, ON
- SUMMERTIME Exhibition | Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON
- 2nd Annual Summer Group Show | Blue Crow Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Both Sides Now | The Japanese Paper Place, Toronto, ON
- True North | Headwaters Arts Gallery, Alton Mill Arts Centre, Alton, ON
- Waxing Poetic | The Hive, Alton Mill Arts Centre, Alton, ON
- 11th Annual Open Juried Fine Art Show Juried by Tony Marinus Vander Voet | Beaux-Arts Brampton Gallery, Brampton, ON
- Perspectives | Headwaters Arts Gallery, Alton Mill Arts Centre, Alton, ON
- What the Fukunishi? | Graven Feather Gallery, Toronto, ON
ARTS EDUCATION
- Painting with Fire (2021-23) Multiple Instructors
- Nicholas Wilton, (2019, 2020, 2021) The Creative Visionary Program
- Andrea Bird (2007 – 2018) numerous encaustic and creativity workshops
- Paula Roland & Jeffrey Hirst (2019) Encaustic Monotype & Silkscreen Printmaking
- Christina Lovisa – (2017-2019) Mixed Media Encaustic, Mixed Media Assemblage, Encaustic Collage
- Lorraine Glessner (2018) Beyond the Basics Retreat
- Kathryn Bevier – (2011, 2018) Encaustic Monotype Printmaking
- Tania Willems – (2017) Photo Encaustic
- Attended the Fifth Annual International Encaustic Conference (2011)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Juror – Flow Exhibition, Encaustic Art Institute’s National Juried Exhibition (2022)
- Teaching Online Encaustic Workshops (2022 – ongoing)
- Instructor, The Hive Encaustic Studio, Alton Mill Arts Centre (2018)
- Blogger allthingsencaustic.com (2011 to present)
VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
- An organizer of the inaugural 2025 Canadian Encaustic Conference
- Board Member and Chair of Marketing & Communications at Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto (2021 to present)
- Co-organizer unframed Group Exhibitions (in-gallery & online), Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto (2023)
- Co-organizer – LAYERS of MEANING Online International Encaustic Exhibition, Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto (2021)
- Co-curator – CRE8TIVE small group exhibition, Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON (2019)
- Co-organizer of the West Queen West Art Crawl (2019)
COLLECTIONS
- The Museum of Encaustic Art, (MoEA) Cerrillos, NM, USA
- Private collections in Canada and the United States
PUBLICATIONS
- 2022 – Encaustic Arts Magazine – Volume 18, Issue 1 Winter 2022 – Technique Article: Encaustic Accretion Pages 70-87
- 2022 – Photo Trouvée Magazine Issue 8 Pages 74-77
- 2018 – In The Hills Magazine Volume 25 Number 3 – True Colours Pages 62, 63 (view)