Emily A Kalwaitis

medium: painting

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Edge of Innocence 2006 Painting	She 2005 Painting	She Emerges 2006 Painting
Unassuming 2006 Painting	Moon's Vessel 2005 Painting	Prana 2005 Painting
Apron 2005 Painting	Returning 2003 Painting	Veil 2003 Painting
Water's Edge 2005 Painting

Contact information
244 Seventh St.
Fond du Lac, WI 54935
Email Address: ekalwaitis@netscape.net

Artist statement
I am interested in that which is half-hidden and mysterious. I'm drawn to subtle emotional states, barely perceivable, fleeting and unsubstantial. I'm drawn to things that fade.

My most recent work centers around female figures, both women and young girls. The figures are most frequently amidst some element of nature: clouds, plants, birds, deer, water, earth. Observance and awareness of nature lead me into myself, to parts which I tend to fiercely protect.

Dreams, fairytales and childhood memories greatly influence my images, which often evolve from an impression left by a dream or a suddenly recalled early experience. My interest in fairytales comes mostly from deeply connecting to them as a child, especially those in which the main character is a female who, faced with limitations, prevails because of her purity and endurance. I'm inspired by Kiki Smith, Joseph Cornell and Virginia Woolf.

The paint is applied as a wash of thinned layers of acrylic. Some of the pieces are on un-stretched, lightly primed or unprimed canvas (or other fabric), so they are able to hang freely from a thin piece of wood. The pieces that are "stretched" are on wooden quilting hoops. The intrinsic qualities of the fabrics (weave, frayed edges, drape) often are significant elements. I also work on watercolor paper, leaving much of it without paint, again to reveal the paper itself as part of the piece. Although the medium is largely paint, I often include drawing media, simple stitching, applique and collage.

Biography
Emily Kalwaitis has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Fiber Art and Drawing, received from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1997. She has shown her work at several small galleries and alternative spaces, including the New Arts Program in Kutztown, Penn.; Walker's Point Center for the Arts in Milwaukee; the WomanMade Gallery in Chicago; and the Windhover Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac. She has been commissioned for her work, including paintings, murals and a performance backdrop. Further, her work has been published Reflections Artists' Journal, and she was chosen to be included in the Women's Environmental Artist's Directory, based in Berkeley, Calif.

In addition to her work as an artist, Kalwaitis is and has been an Art Specialist for the past eight years. She works with preschool-age children.