Douglas and Adrienne Mehrens
Douglas left architecture school at UNM to design and build custom homes. Over the next 35 years, he designed and built some 50 unique, dramatic private homes and exciting commercial properties in 8 different states, coast to coast.
In 1980, with the love and fascination of the Universe, he started his career in wax by dripping Crayola ® crayons one drop at a time from the wick of candles; each dot representing a star, planet, or galaxy. His art evolved to include many forms of wax and, currently, resin and wax.
Douglas and Adrienne Mehrens
It was after 15 years of private shows and a gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, that Douglas decided to buy 12 beautiful private acres south of Santa Fe, on the Galisteo River Basin. Here, he would begin to build his dream of the Encaustic Art Institute. As part of the overall design of the buildings within the compound, Douglas envisioned a gallery/studio for himself and the Encaustic Art Institute. After a 10-year process of completing the “pyramid”, a magnificent 24oo sq. ft. space, it became the permanent home of the Encaustic Art Institute. In 2005, he formed EAI as a 501(c)(3) non-profit to fulfill his dream of giving back to the community and other encaustic artists.
His vision extends to having an encaustic art organization that uniquely appreciates beginning artists as much as successful ones. At EAI, artists join together to benefit one another, establishing a unique relationship between artists, galleries, and non-profits.
In 2015, the Museum of Encaustic Art was created under the umbrella of the non-profit Encaustic Art Institute. The Permanent Collection of encaustic/wax artwork from all over the world, can be viewed online and in the Museum in New Mexico. Over 500 collected works are rotated annually.
As Douglas puts it, “It is time to get artists (our first priority), galleries, art organizations, and museums, to all work together for the success of the artist.” He and his wife Adrienne (also an artist) have certainly realized the dream of acquiring the space and established the edifice and the vision to make EAI the premier encaustic art organization in the world. With your help, support, and, of course, your ideas, we will grow and succeed.