Celia L. Mercer
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Artist and filmmaker Celia Mercer animates the unexpected – rubbings of manhole covers, encaustic paintings, children’s paintings on fabric, garden plants, photograms, paint splattered and dripped through stencils, and scrapes & scratches on film stock. Currently working primarily with encaustic paint & collage, she creates complex images through the layering of paint and found materials. Encaustic (“to burn”), one of the most ancient of art forms, is a hot-wax technique in which pigmented beeswax is melted, hardened, and fused – layer upon layer, until the desired effect is attained. The layered effect achieved with encaustic underscores the feeling of mystery and depth in some works; encases and memorializes in others. In works of animation and painting, Mercer challenges the viewer to see the familiar in new or unexpected ways.After receiving her MFA at UCLA in 1990, Mercer went to work in the interactive industry as an art director and interface designer. In 1996 she returned to UCLA, as the second Senate Faculty member in the UCLA Animation Workshop. In 2007, Mercer became Area Head of the Workshop. Her courses include 2nd year curriculum (animatic and 2D digital filmmaking); Seminar in the Animated Film; Thesis Workshop; and thesis advising.mercergirlmovingpictures.com |
