Dietlind Vander Schaaf

Dietlind Vander Schaaf holds an MFA from the University of San Francisco and an MA from the University of Southern Maine. Her work has been described as “the transformation of disparate objects into elegantly simple compositions of pattern and grace” (Artscope). Vander Schaaf has exhibited at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, Conrad Wilde Gallery, The Fuller Craft Museum, and On Center Gallery, among others, and been featured in Maine Home + Design, Decor Maine, UPPERCASE, and Downeast magazines.

Vander Schaaf is a Core Instructor for R&F Handmade Paints, an Ampersand Ambassador, and the former president of New England Wax. An annual presenter at the International Encaustic Conference, she has taught workshops throughout the country, including Haystack, Arrowmont, Castle Hill, Snow Farm, Penland, Maine College of Art, R&F, and internationally at Zijdelings in The Netherlands. The recipient of grants from the Maine Arts Commission and International Encaustic Artists, as well as a Tending Space Artist Fellowship from the Hemera Foundation, Vander Schaaf is also a certified Kripalu yoga instructor with specialty training in meditation, advanced asana, Ayurveda, vinyasa, and pranayama.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The Japanese word jikan refers to the silence between two thoughts. In this vein, my work is an attempt to render temporary, fleeting moments of beauty, balance, and stillness visible. I describe my paintings as the place where the inner landscape and the outer landscape meet. Through texture, pattern, mark making, and color, I convey an emotional tone of calm-centeredness. There is a strong narrative underpinning present. Each painting is a poem of sorts.

My work references teachings from Zen Buddhism, Christian mysticism, the poetic traditions, and contemplative practices including yoga and meditation. I am influenced by writings on meditation and quiet by Pico Iyer, Jon Kabat-Zinn, David Hinton, and Gordon Hessler, as well as the minimal work of artists Agnes Martin, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Zarina Hashmi, and far too many poets to name.