Issue 9 Artist Spotlight | Terri Yacovelli
C+B: Tell us about yourself, Terri!
TY: I am a full-time artist specializing in encaustic—hot wax painting. Before dedicating myself fully to my practice, I spent many years as a studio art teacher and adjunct professor of art. Teaching a diverse range of students, from young people to adults at the college level, has reinforced my core belief that art is a universal language. We are inherently creative beings, yet we are hesitant to fully express ourselves. I am passionate about guiding others to use their creativity as a means to discover and amplify their voice and improve their well being.
C+B: Describe a time when you doubted yourself. Explain the scenario and how you were able to work through it.
TY: When I was around thirty, I lost quite a few people in my life within a few years of each other, some tragically. It really affected me; I had sort of an existential crisis. At that time I was painting realistic portraits in oil paint. Suddenly I lost the desire to paint anything, especially images of people. I thought, What's the point? Eventually, to distract myself from my doubts and grief, I decided not to 'make anything", just get out watercolors and mix colors and listen to music. I just pushed paint around. My art really helped to calm me during a most difficult time.
The freedom of playing with materials and working intuitively led to experimenting with mixed media to create colorful abstracts works. Themes of transition and symbols such as passages and portals emerged. The series was not a conscious decision; the work evolved on its own. Focusing on mark-making and color exploration gave me space to process things; it was very healing. I have recently been revisiting this theme with my encaustic work, so things have come full circle.
C+B: Describe a time when you felt successful in your creative pursuits. Explain the scenario and what was so impactful for you.
TY: There was an instance where I had finishing a rather large encaustic painting, and while I felt it was good, it lacked something. Other artist friends told me not to touch it, that it was a good piece and it was finished. It continued to bother me and I ended up reworking it. I took my blowtorch and went at it, taking away areas and then adding more layers on top of the entire surface. This gave the piece an ephemeral, atmospheric quality. Although altering something already complete was uncertain, the process brought new life to the work. Later that year , that painting won an award in a juried exhibition. This experience reminded me to embrace risk and trust my instincts as a creator.
Find and support Terri here:
IG: @tyacovelli
Website: terriyacovelli.com
Terri Yacovelli
(Navigating the Blue, 24x24, encaustic, ©Terri Yacovelli)
Me in 3 words: Creative, Spiritual, Silly. Creative because so much of my time is spent making things, not only physical artwork, but decorating, gardening and cooking.
Spiritual: My work is rooted in a deep sense of connection and purpose, reflecting my belief that we are guided by our inner knowing.
Silly: I embrace playfulness and believe we can find humor in most things.
My favorite artist of all time: That's a tough question! I have many artists I admire, but if I have to choose it would be the American artist Fairfield Porter (1907-1975). He was a painter and an art critic, and his work is elegantly simple but technically complex at the same time. His paintings are representational, they show his life through domestic scenes, portraits and landscapes. Each piece has a beautiful sense of color and gestural abstraction. He was very interested in the physical properties of paint and the joy of painting, sometimes allowing his work to be slightly 'unfinished' in areas. It's a good way to emphasize the materials and the artist's experience of the act of creating. I love that, and believe that the process is just as important as the end product.
A medium I’ve never tried but want to: When I was an educator, I was responsible to learn many mediums so that I could then teach them, so I have experience with many fine art materials. I have to say that working with encaustic is satisfying because it has endless possibilities. Encaustic paint can be polished to a high gloss, carved, scraped, layered, dipped, cast, modeled, textured, and combined with oil paints. Many artists use encaustic combined with printmaking, cloth, collage, and to create sculpture. I am open to new mediums, but this one will keep me busy for a very long time. There is always a new technique for me to explore with wax.
