Educational Gallery

Color Play by Katha Soens

Artist Statement:
“I work with media that let me play with structure, color, and texture. Cold wax and encaustic (hot wax) mixed with pigment allow layering and scraping back to reveal the layers beneath. Scratching, embedding, glazing, and fusing give texture to these layers. There’s a hint of mystery, a story waiting to be revealed as the layers are worked and reworked. I leave it up to viewers to interpret the story for themselves.
Working with wood assemblage is fun, like creating a giant puzzle. I incorporate vintage ladders, salvaged wood, baby blocks, rulers and print blocks for added texture.
Abstract images appeal to me the most. I am drawn to horizons, structure, and saturated color. When starting a piece, I have an idea of what I want it to look like. Working on the piece may take it on a different path, sometimes with a struggle, but always with the hand of the artist apparent.”

Artist Bio:
Katha Soens’ corporate background in website design meant years working with coding and pixels. It’s been a wonderful change for her to work with cold and fused beeswax, acrylic, plaster, wood, and collage, allowing for a hands-on and messy process. Her work is currently shown in By Hand Gallery in Bloomington, Indiana. Group art shows and venues in Indiana have included I Fell gallery (Side Door Studio group show), BPP (Ted Jones Playhouse), Brown County Art Gallery (T.C.Steele member show), Needmore Coffee Roasters, and Meadowood Gallery.

Katha has taken encaustic and cold wax workshops, most recently in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the International Encaustic Conference 2023. Other workshops include venues in Seattle, Washington, at Encausticamp; Penland, North Carolina, and Asheville, North Carolina.

Katha is a graduate of Earlham College, and holds an MA from Fairfield University in Corporate Communications. She has worked for companies throughout the US as a virtual employee or contractor. A native of Pittsburgh, Katha has lived in Indiana, Illinois, Toronto, Virginia, and Connecticut, before settling in Bloomington, Indiana, in 2015.