Bio
NATALIE SALMINEN RUDE
Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Natalie Salminen Rude credits her years of travel, a deep appreciation for the natural world around her, esteem for community, and a genuine wonder threaded with intense curiosity for all that life holds – for having laid the foundation for a rich zest for life and the artistic process. In 2003 she received a BFA with honors from the University of Wisconsin, Superior. Although graduating with a concentration in painting, she also studied extensively in ceramics, textiles and sculpture. In 2004, she began working in encaustic. Encaustic has become for her a valued medium as it allows for physicality, creative mixed media additions, use of poetic text and ultimately a powerful employment of color; each being vital components of her personal aesthetic and process.
Natalie now resides near the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth after time spent in Europe, South America, the Middle East, Mexico and lastly Ontario, Canada, where she, her husband, and three children called home for four years. Working professionally in the arts since 2004, she maintains a studio, teaches encaustic workshops both locally and internationally, exhibits and facilitates discussions on spirituality and what it means to live as an artist within the context of commitment. Read here for more information on the encaustic process, and here for her artist’s statement.