What is your work about? How do you describe the feeling you want to communicate?
On the surface my work is about finding a sense of belonging with the earth and its inhabitants, including animals, birds, snakes, etc.. On a deeper level it’s about constructing a personal story that embraces the unknown with a sense of wonder. Last year I was fortunate enough to have work included in an exhibition at Modernbook Gallery in San Francisco. During the show an older gentleman came up to me and said, “Do you know what your work is? It’s life-affirming.” I’ve kept that to myself until now, but I wanted to share it now in response to the question about what I want to communicate. That’s it . . . I want to communicate hope and a sense of purpose. 
Tell me about the progression of your work. Where did you start and where would you like to go.
I started out in the darkroom in the mid-90s making silver gelatin prints, with the goal of becoming a portrait photographer. At that time I had fallen in love with black and white photographs. By the early 2000s I was being lured by the paper choices that digital printing offered, especially cotton rag and wood-pulp-based papers. Since then I’ve taken classes and workshops to hone my digital printing skills, so I know my way around Photoshop and Lightroom. At about the same time that I became interested in digital printing, I also felt the desire to make personal work, and so I gradually moved away from portraiture and into the world of fine art photography.
Nowadays I’m longing to get my hands more involved, although not by going back to silver gelatin printing, but by building on what I’ve learned so far and taking it further.
What is drawing you to one-of-a-kind work?
There’s no denying the joy of using one’s hands in making work, and it’s true that the physical connection adds to the emotional connection. And besides the current trend of handmade work, there is something profound about the bond that forms between the artist and the work, almost as if a tangible thing. This is what I’m after. This and the sense that I’m giving something of myself when a piece goes into someone’s home or out into the world.
What has been your path of experimentation with different aspects of working hands-on?
My path of experimentation began about a year ago when I took a workshop with Kate Breakey on 
hand-painting photographs at Santa Fe Workshops. I knew then that I wanted to give myself the opportunity to explore ways of pushing my work, but with artist-instructors who are excellent in what they do. Since then I’ve also explored polymer gravure printmaking, cyanotypes, and wet plate collodions, and I plan to make platinum palladium prints later this summer, followed by encaustics with pigments and wax.
Explain your process of exploring different mediums.
It’s been a one-foot in front of the other kind of process, with each step determining the next. I started with hand painting because that’s what felt most compelling. And I love the almost meditative quality of painting. With each new process I’ve tried to find a teacher who is a master at what they do, and easily accessible to me. I’ve also given thought to processes that are archival as the longevity of the work is important.
What has worked? Why?
So far everything has worked, at least with technique and in large part due to excellent teachers. I’m still undecided about alternative processes and quite honestly I’m a little torn between them, but I do know that I can’t stop thinking about velvety pigmented paint and pastels. I also have a much better idea of how I’d like to see pigment in my work, but more experimenting is needed. And besides making platinum palladium prints, I’m also wanting to try encaustic wax and pigment. So I’ll keep following the breadcrumbs for awhile longer.
What has not worked? Why?
I can’t say that one specific process hasn’t worked, although I have been conscious of not doing 
something just for the sake of doing it. It’s important to me to ultimately choose what feels right with the direction of my work and with what I’m trying to say with the work, and not choose just based on what has been historically sought after or significant.
How do you see yourself in your work? Do you feel there will be “more of you” if it’s more hands-on?
To this point I’ve seen myself as a storyteller, emoting memories and imaginings from my childhood that hopefully others can relate to, finding their own narratives within the imagery. As I move towards making more hands-on work, my hope is that I’ll not only be sharing a story, but that I’ll be sharing a physical part of myself.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Please pass this along to your friends who might be interested in photo encaustic.
Be well….be creative,
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P.S. [The Artistic Image] is open for registration. Please join me beginning July 20th for 6-weeks of fun and encaustic exploration.
thanks Clare
Very nice interview. I love her deep and thoughtful comments. Her work is beautiful too. Thank you both.
Wow. This is excellent. Often times I wonder if I’m the only one who is in search of what medium will be the ‘magic pill’. I’ve been on a path of discovery for several years now and it’s comforting to know that other artists feel the same. I often felt as though my ‘indecisiveness’, of finding the art form that speaks to me, was due to some unknown force. I’ve put my camera down for the time being and am considering selling it knowing that the photographic images that I’ve been taking were not the images I wanted. Creating images has not been a driving factor in my art, but using images of historical nature are what excites me. And learning how to encapsulate them in wax is really exciting. Thanks for the inspirational post. It’s nice to see how other artists push through their thought processes and comforting to know that I’m not the only one feeling unsettled in my artistic goals.
The work of Tami Bone has something mysterious to me…It makes me wonder and dream…
I am just starting with photo encaustics.
( Belgium)