Encaustic Sculptures by Ele Stevenson
West Melton, Waitaha Canterbury
Mixed Media: recycled rimu, encaustic wax and fire
Dimensions: Small approx. 80x100x55mm
Large approx. 80x155x55mm
Count Your Blessings
These small houses are an ode to gratitude - to the quiet rituals that connect us to ideas of home, care, and continuity.
The repeated form and rhythmic marks recall the universal practice of counting - a gesture shared across many faiths. From Christian rosary beads to Hindu mala, Buddhist prayer strands to Islamic misbaha, the act of touching and counting becomes a meditation: a way of holding one’s blessings in the hands.
Each mark, burn, and layer of wax becomes prayer and preservation - a reminder that materials, like the everyday spaces we inhabit, are worthy of care and reverence, and that our homes are sacred in their own right. Embedded within some of the openings are small handwritten affirmations, written on reclaimed sheet music and sealed in the work - quiet messages of hope, hidden like prayers within the structure of each house.
These works are intended to be experienced slowly. They are made to be picked, held, and even smelled - allowing the warmth of the wax, the grain of the wood, and the traces of fire to be appreciated through the senses.
Encaustic Sculptures by Ele Stevenson
West Melton, Waitaha Canterbury
Mixed Media: recycled rimu, encaustic wax and fire
Dimensions: Small approx. 80x100x55mm
Large approx. 80x155x55mm
Count Your Blessings
These small houses are an ode to gratitude - to the quiet rituals that connect us to ideas of home, care, and continuity.
The repeated form and rhythmic marks recall the universal practice of counting - a gesture shared across many faiths. From Christian rosary beads to Hindu mala, Buddhist prayer strands to Islamic misbaha, the act of touching and counting becomes a meditation: a way of holding one’s blessings in the hands.
Each mark, burn, and layer of wax becomes prayer and preservation - a reminder that materials, like the everyday spaces we inhabit, are worthy of care and reverence, and that our homes are sacred in their own right. Embedded within some of the openings are small handwritten affirmations, written on reclaimed sheet music and sealed in the work - quiet messages of hope, hidden like prayers within the structure of each house.
These works are intended to be experienced slowly. They are made to be picked, held, and even smelled - allowing the warmth of the wax, the grain of the wood, and the traces of fire to be appreciated through the senses.
