ON THE COVER

Piece of My Heart Patchwork #2
18" x 18"
monotype/mixed media/paper
by Katie Rafferty

“I often listen to music while I work,” explains Katie Rafferty from her New Orleans studio. And when Janis Joplin’s iconic “A Piece of My Heart” began to play while working on this piece she knew instantly that she had the title.
“I’m originally from Lake Charles, but I love this city,” she explains.
“My theme is always about architecture and city life,” she continues, explaining that this work was originally for an exhibit in Boston where it would hang alongside photos taken by students who’d come to New Orleans to volunteer after Katrina. “They wanted work that was about New Orleans but in an abstract way... I decided to experiment with encaustic materials,” she notes of the technique she used for this piece that was new to her, but has ancient origins.
“The encaustic material that we use today is very similar to what they used thousands of years ago to waterproof Greek ships,” she explains of this combination of varnish and beeswax. “A little earth got mixed in and they saw that it could be used for pigment.”
More of Rafferty’s work can be seen at Cole Pratt Gallery, 3800 Magazine Street, New Orleans. (504) 891-6789 or coleprattgallery.com.