PAINTINGS
Skinner, Catherine Eaton
U.S. (1949 - )
Sdons pa II (To Join)
2009
Encaustic, oil, graphite, and fibers on panel
32 x 45 x 2 in. (81.3 x 114.3 x 5.1 cm) overall
Gift of the artist
FA 2011.44

Catherine Eaton Skinner is a Northwest-based multidisciplinary artist who incorporates painting, encaustic, sculpture, printmaking, and photography into her practice. Skinner’s body of work explores the natural world and its intricate balances. Previously, Skinner’s work has engaged more particularly with the natural world, while in this more recent series, she has begun to explore a more meditative, spiritual practice. She uses repetition of sacred forms as well as the Eastern philosophical number 108, which appears in the background of many works in the series, as a way to bring order to the disorder around us. The five elements, earth, fire, water, air and space, also interact significantly in her work to create a balance of opposites. In Sdons Pa II, Skinner uses the precious jewel motif, or maniratna, drawn as a cluster of elongated discs or circles. In Buddhist iconography, the precious jewel fulfils all the desires of those who come near it.