Helen K Garber

My current work is rooted in encaustic wax and mixed media, a practice I have been engaged with since 2007. After decades working primarily with photography, I wanted the work to become physical, sensorial, and experiential, something encountered with the body as well as the eyes. Beeswax is an ancient medium, used long before photography existed. Encasing photographic imagery in wax allows me to merge contemporary image making with a material that carries history, ritual, and transformation. The process is physical and time based. Wax is heated, layered, carved back, and reworked. It records time through accumulation, erosion, and scent, resisting polish and perfection. The Magic Boxes: Each box is a repurposed wooden container that holds talisman objects such as horse tail, sage, buffalo fur and collected rainwater. Wrapped in photographic prints, book pages, and handmade paper, and sealed with wax, these objects function as vessels created with intention. They are meant to support reflection, protection, and personal transformation. Animal Portraits: Each piece begins with a written story about how the animal came into my life. The text is printed and becomes the first layer of the work. Layered collage elements obscure it. The full text can be read on my website, but is not meant to be absorbed when viewing the piece. Living and working in Santa Fe has deepened this practice. My work explores presence and the unseen through material, memory, and intention.

I came to photography early. My amateur photographer father taught me how to work with a manual camera and helped me win my first photography award at the Brooklyn Borough Science Fair. His choice of stability for his family gave me the freedom to pursue an education and a creative life. Today my work is held in permanent collections including the Getty, LACMA, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, the George Eastman Museum, and major library archives in Southern California. New York City public schools opened the world of culture to me. Regular visits to museums and libraries taught me to see architecture, art, and design as part of daily life. Before there was any pull of Hollywood, there was the pull of Manhattan. I studied theatre scenic design in college, which shaped how I think about space, light, and mood. My career began in 1990 photographing behind the scenes at Cirque du Soleil, where being welcomed as a peer by working artists gave me the confidence to pursue photography full time. I lived in LA for over thirty five years, working first in editorial portraiture and then shifting fully into fine art. I enjoyed a great acceptance of my work. Since 2007, my work has centered on encaustic and mixed media. Living in Santa Fe over the past decade has deepened this practice. My work today is about material, presence and possibility. I work intuitively, guided by inner knowledge and spiritual influences that shape both process and outcome.

Assemblage, Collage/Mixed Media, Digital Art, Installation, Multi-Media, Photography