Erin Keane is an artist working with encaustic beeswax, and she is also a bookbinder. For years, encaustic and bookbinding were separate entities in her life, the art and the craft, the experimental and the meditative, and then they converged. Her encaustic journals are designed to honor books as an art form.
Keane is drawn to the idea of making journals that are both functional and a distinctive art form, and she enjoys the challenge of exploring new bindings and structures. She is continually refining her skills and building her repertoire. It is fulfilling to see her individual (and seemingly separate) facets commingle, converse, converge, and travel in unique, unexpected directions.
She is currently captivated by sculptural books with complex structures and wax on paper possibilities such as encaustic monotype. She also binds journals for display and for personal use. The Butterfly preserves fallen wings found on hikes and is bound with a specially designed Butterfly Stitch. Blue Ridge Books feature a panoramic landscape with trail maps lining the inside.
Erin Keane studied art at Miami University, Ohio, and graduated with an M.A. in Art Education. She moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains and taught at Brevard Middle School earning National Board Certification in Visual Arts. In 2011, Erin moved into a new career stage, becoming a professional artist and instructor. She works daily at her home studio near Pisgah National Forest, and her adventures in the mountains, lakes, and rivers become embedded personally into her imagery.