FLORIDA KEYS COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROFESSOR TO SHOW ENCAUSTIC ART AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Key West, FL, February 14, 2009 - Florida Keys Community College, known for its outstanding art and culture courses, will have its art professor debut an encaustic art collection at the University of South Carolina's Curtis R. Harley Art Gallery later this month.

Professor Kate Miller was invited to display several art pieces at the gallery's month-long Contemporary Encaustic Exhibit, beginning February 27, 2009. Miller, who is one of only ten showcased artists from the Eastern U.S. and Canada, will travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina on March 5th to present comments on the encaustic process and share insight on this unique mixed media artistic technique. The artists' presentations are open to the public and will be followed by a reception at USC's Performing Arts Center.

Encaustics, derived from the Greek word "enkaustikos", which means "to heat" is also known as hot wax painting. The process involves melting beeswax with resin to create a malleable substance with which artists can use to embed various marks, materials, pigments, and textures. This historical process, used by ancient Greeks and Romans, has attracted the attention of many contemporary artists because of its rich textures and sculptural properties.

"Wax predominates my work, I am infatuated with it," says Miller, who has worked with wax long before formally studying encaustics in graduate school. "It reacts to touch… it reacts to heat…it adheres and layers, binding one piece to another. It is sensual and aromatic, plastic and translucent."

Many of Miller's encaustic pieces, as well as ones from other art collections, can be viewed on her website at katepmiller.com.

"Art is for me a metaphor for life, a synthesis of ideas, experiences and relationships," says Miller. "It is my hope that my viewer can feel my pain and my passion or find familiarity with the work."

Miller has been an art instructor at Florida Keys Community College for eight years and has taught an array of art courses including Painting, Figure Drawing, Mixed Media, Sculpting, Art History, as well as several online courses and creativity workshops. She will teach a mini semester course in art portfolio development beginning February 27th and will lead two online art history courses over the summer. For more information about FKCC's art department, visit the website at www.fkcc.edu.