Materiality is a driving force in Carolyn’s studio. The materials she chooses as her creative tools unite her with the subject she decides to explore–nature. “Paint is made of crushed-up earth. I love that you can take ground pigments from the earth and mix them with beeswax to make paint. In capturing it, you pay homage to the place that gave you your materials; that connection is important.” Says Carolyn.

While Carolyn has worked in many mediums, from oil paint to metal, she has found that encaustic painting is her favorite. Her work begins by heating pigmented wax on a hot palette and then applying it to wood panels to create a luminous work of art. 

For Carolyn's art-making practice, process, and research are incredibly important. Regarding the search for inspiration, nature offers Carolyn endless subjects by which to be fascinated. From stones and shells to the beeswax she uses in encaustic painting, Carolyn’s creative practice is rooted in her love of the natural world and her desire to care for it. Whether she depicts plant imagery and abstract landscapes or explores metaphors within her literary influences. Carolyn begins by researching her topic. Most recently, she has been interested in looking at old maps to understand her region’s waterways. Charting a path north of Indiana to the Ohio River, going to these sites to draw, paint, and photograph as part of her research.

“I’ve been thinking about aerial perspectives of the land and how the rivers change over time and collect in streams,” Says Carolyn. The central question that has driven her research is: Where is the water coming from, and where will it go? This exploration begins her new work, "All the Water Flows to the Sea.”