ABOUT
Cloth carries memory within its folds, shaped by function and expectation; in unraveling, it opens space for possibility. By fraying, pulling, and cutting fabric, I release it from its prescribed role, allowing it to become something vital, raw, and expressive. Wax becomes an equal partner in this transformation—its willingness to melt and solidify, to lighten and darken, shaping the surface through constant change. At times it behaves like a creature unto itself, responsive and unpredictable, holding the fragments in tension while amplifying texture, gesture, and movement. Each piece becomes a living surface where deconstruction rewilds the cloth, as if it seeks to return to its original, untamed state—a meditation on becoming, presence, and continual unfolding.
Alaina Enslen is a Hudson Valley artist and has been painting and teaching for over twenty-five years. Her work is represented by Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, New York and is included in both private and public collections across the U.S. and abroad.
Working with cloth, encaustic, and salvaged materials, Alaina creates layered collages that merge painting and textile traditions. The cloth she gathers holds memory within its folds—once bound by function and social expectation, but now reimagined into new forms that invite reflection and possibility.
Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, supported by grants from the International Encaustic Artists and the Luso-American Development Foundation, and featured in publications including Art Spiel.
When she’s not in the studio, Alaina shares her love of encaustics through workshops, retreats, and classes in the U.S., Portugal, Spain and Brazil, guiding students to discover their own voice through material, process, and play.