Kimberly Merck-Moore, Royse City, TX
I create mixed media art, technically defined as art with more than one medium. I use wood, copper, glass, clay, acrylics, and found objects that inspire me in my work, whatever I believe helps tell you the story of each piece. I begin by building a wood panel or box. Texture medium is added, and then as many as thirty layers of acrylic washes. I then sculpt onto the surface with clay made from paper and a binder. The clay is then painted, and I add leaves that have been embossed, painted, and cut from copper. Some pieces have stained glass or beads and fossils.
As a native Texan, I grew up with a forest behind my home and spent my childhood playing and imagining amongst the trees. “The Secret Garden” was my favorite book when I was a child and has definitely inspired my creative journey. While I studied psychology in college, art is truly the profession that feeds my soul.