Dietlind Vander Schaaf is a Maine painter whose encaustic work brings clarity and refinement to contemporary Maine art. Dietlind holds an MFA from the University of San Francisco and an MA from the University of Southern Maine. Artscope described her work as the transformation of “disparate objects into elegantly simple compositions of pattern and grace,” and Maine Home + Design featured her in its “One to Watch” profile. Dietlind exhibits nationally.Dietlind is a Core Instructor for R&F Handmade Paints and former president of New England Wax. She teaches across the United States and abroad, guiding artists through workshops and retreats. She carries these exchanges back into her studio practice. Her recognitions include grants from the Maine Arts Commission and International Encaustic Artists, a Tending Space Artist Fellowship from the Hemera Foundation, and the Juror’s Award associated with the 10th International Encaustic Conference. Dietlind has her 500-hour Kripalu yoga teacher certification.In the studio, Dietlind builds paintings on panel with layers of beeswax and damar with pigment, then resolves compositions through decisive mark-making. At times she adds gold leaf for measured emphasis. “I create pieces that embody the dynamic interplay between chaos and order. They convey an emotional tone through texture and pattern,” she says. “I use mark-making to communicate what I find most lovely, haunting, and curious about the human condition.” Dietlind’s work references teachings from Zen Buddhism, Christian mysticism, poetry, and contemplative practices such as yoga and meditation. She is influenced by writings on meditation and quiet by Pico Iyer, Jon Kabat-Zinn, David Hinton, and Gordon Hessler, as well as the minimal work of artists Agnes Martin, Hiroyuki Hamada, and Zarina Hashmi.The idea of jikan, the silence between two thoughts, guides her use of interval and pause. Dietlind often begins with forms from the natural world, distills them to geometry, then loosens them through drawing and color. The work reads as abstract art with an inner-landscape sensibility.Learn more about Dietlind’s artistic process on Radio Maine.