One does not travel through this life alone. My work is woven into the fabric of community support and I have had the great good fortune to have been given financial support for the establishment of this website.
Carla Benjamin is a fiscal year 2022 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the MSAB, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Thank you so much for this support. I seek to enrich lives by continuing to create and share fine artwork.

Recently I was given access to several honey beehive frames from which I am able to salvage beeswax.
Knowing nothing of the steps involved in processing said material, I jumped in and began scarping the wax from the frame foundations using a plastic putty knife. The delicate walls of the comb gave me an appreciation of the meticulous, constant building and tending performed by the bees throughout their lifetime. There were a couple dead bees in the comb and I imagined that they'd died in mid-task completely oriented to their lot as workers.
The color of the wax varied from dark amber to nearly white from within the same hive. Pollen coming from pine trees and wildflowers creates a lovely warm palette.
Many thanks to my friends for this fodder for a new adventure as I process the gift of beeswax into useable encaustic medium.

Above: End of Day near Holdingford 2020 9" x 12" Photo encaustic

The Brainerd UCC at 5th and Juniper Streets on Brainerd, Minnesota is hosting an exhibit of 25 of my encaustic works through July 4,2022.The exhibit runs in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the church.
On display are 13 large works that I completed as part of my grant work as a recipient of 2021 Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support of Individuals Grant.
The remaining dozen works are smaller experimental works completed through the first two years of Covid isolation.Included near the sanctuary entrance on the main floor is Flame of Hope - a Tribute to George Floyd and the Continuing Struggles.

I am pleased to announce that I am a recipient of 2022 Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support for Individuals Grant.
The grant support allows me to continue to hone my encaustic artistry and to continue to receive mentoring with a goal of securing outlets for the sale of my work to healthcare venues and other public spaces. Thank you MSAB and the citizens of Minnesota!