Congratulations to artist Brooke Blauer Skousen, our latest ArtResin Winner! A Native to the Salt Lake Valley of Utah, Brooke is a wood intarsia and resin artist:
"I create wood intarsia landscapes, which are intricate layered scenes crafted from hand-cut and shaped wood pieces. Each element is chosen for its natural grain and color, forming rich, textural compositions. I often incorporate resin elements to evoke water, light, or atmosphere and sometimes embed natural materials like flowers or accents of gold leaf to add a sense of organic elegance."
Does where you're from or where you currently live influence your work?
Where I currently live absolutely influences the work I do. I have been known to create a lot of red rock pieces, which are prominent in Southern Utah Landscapes. My little family of 5 will often travel around Utah just to explore and get inspiration shots for my work.
What's your art background? Are you self-taught or did you study art?
I began taking oil painting classes when I was just 8 years old and took my future as an artist very seriously. I went on to graduate with my Bachelors degree in art education and hoped to influence many young children the necessity for art in our world.
Are you a full-time artist or do you create around work hours?
Currently while my kids are little I am a full time mother to 3 small children. I consider myself a part- time artist as I work during naps, at night time, on weekends and really any spare moment I can get in between taking care of them.
What do you love about the mediums that you use in your work?
There are so many things to love about the mediums I use in my work! First of all, I love the wood medium, because of its versatility in grain depth and variety of colors. I love that in a sense, I am painting with wood. Each piece of wood that I cut out and shape is like a paint stroke added to the canvas. I also love using resin because it adds an effect that I could in no wise get using wood. I can create the most translucent of lakes and the most intense surreal galaxy skies. I love the reaction I get when people think that it's glass and they just want to look at it closer trying to understand how I was able to create something so different.
How did you discover resin?
I had seen resin before but was honestly very intimidated by it, and I had swore to myself that I would never use it! And then I was trying to convey a river in one of my pieces and could not figure out how to make it look the way I wanted. Eventually, I decided to give it a shot, and I have been hooked ever since!
How has resin impacted your artwork?
I feel like before I started using resin my artwork was beautiful and interesting and people liked it, but I am not joking when I say that the moment I started using resin in my artwork... my business took off. I had so many people not only buying my artwork but also enthralled with it and saying how I had "leveled up". I think where my work is more abstract and different, adding that additional element gave it far more visual interest and impact that it couldn't have otherwise. I will never go back.
Can you provide a brief rundown of your process?
My process is a bit long, but I will try to condense it. I start by, of course, sourcing the reclaimed wood. This part is important and time consuming. I travel over multiple counties to get the wood I need. Sometimes it is from cabinet shops, and other times it's from an old woodworker's garage and other times it's from a dump. I salvage whatever hardwood pieces I can find and transform them back into their original state and give them a purpose.
After sourcing the wood, I will plane it (clean it up), and re-saw it on a band saw and different thicknesses to give the desired effect of dimension. Following that I will design my piece and sketch it all out and label each section a different number and color. From there I cut out the template and trace it onto my pre prepped wood panels.
After that I cut it out on a scroll saw, shape and sand each piece and puzzle the image back together again. Essentially, I like to explain it as I am creating a puzzle that has to be put back together again. After all of that, I then trim and frame the piece, add any additional flowers or accents and then at the very end I pour my resin either in the sky or water portion I have left blank to fill in.
Why do you want to make art? What motivates you to create?
I don't know where it comes from exactly,.. maybe something born within me, but I can't help the need inside of me to create. Not only create, but to make something beautiful. I get immense gratification from transforming nothing into something extraordinary. It is what keeps me up late at night and distracts me in my thoughts throughout the day. I believe God put a desire in my heart to create beautiful things and add to the world in this way.
Does art help you in other areas of your life?
Absolutely! After having my second child I felt like I had lost myself as a person and as a mother. I loved being a mother and still do, but I didn't feel like I was myself anymore, like I had lost my identity and that crucial part about me that made me who I was. Once I decided to start creating again five years ago, a light was ignited in my soul. I created my first piece of artwork in years and was elated, I came inside and showed my husband how proud I was for what I had done. He looked at me and said,"I can see that this has made you very happy, you should keep doing it," So I did just that. Additionally, it has helped me become a far more present mother and "show up", so to speak for my family.
What do you hope someone sees or feels when they look at your art?
I hope that when someone looks at my art, they see joy, beauty, calm, and something they have never quite seen before. I hope they see it and connect with the place or feeling they get when immersing themselves in it. I also hope it's an inspiration to some of those out there, who like me, have lost themselves for a while, and are reminded that they need to do whatever fills their soul again.
How do you define success as an artist? What does that look and feel like for you?
This might not be the answer you're looking for, but in my opinion success as an artist looks like fulfillment in purpose. Although I have many successes, sometimes I come home from a show not doing well and feeling discouraged. I am eventually reminded time and time again that that is not why I do it. I do it because it brings me immense joy! Not only that but I have had countless people tell me that it has inspired them to become an artist themselves or to finally begin that thing they have always wanted to do but never had the courage to.
What's your favorite resin tip you'd like to share with our readers?
My favorite resin tip is to spray the air with some water before you begin your pour project to get small pieces of dust out of the air.
Where do you sell your work?
I sell my artwork online, at art shows, and in a local gallery. Additionally about half of my business is doing custom artwork for clients.
Congratulations on your win, Brooke!
To see more of Brooke's art
Visit her website: brookesdesigns.squarespace.com
Follow her on Instagram: @brooke_s_designs
Every month, to celebrate our community of artists, ArtResin will send out a 32 oz kit to two lucky people who have shared the work they've created with ArtResin.
ArtResin: Celebrating 10 Years As The Original Epoxy For Resin Art!
