Bridget Benton has been a working and teaching artist for over 20 years. She has always been drawn to mediums that support working intuitively and building layers - printmaking, photography, collage, fiber, and assemblage. In 2006, she began incorporating encaustic into her work and found her “perfect medium.” She makes extensive use of collage, layering techniques, and monoprints of natural materials in her work.

Benton also uses prints and large-scale image transfers of her photographs as key elements in her paintings. In 2019, Benton was honored to receive an International Encaustic Artists Project Grant for research into large format image transfer and photo reproduction techniques. These three elements - photography, nature print, and encaustic - form the material foundation for most of her current work.

Benton’s passion as a teacher is helping people discover and develop their own creative voice. While she provides detailed instruction in encaustic best practices, her workshops focus on techniques and processes that facilitate self-discovery and creative exploration. Her workshop-in-a-book, The Creative Conversation: ArtMaking as Playful Prayer, is a guide to creating flow in your creative work and building intuitive artmaking skills. In 2012, the book was awarded a Nautilus Book Award Gold Medal as the best book of the year on Creative Process, as well as a Silver Medal in the Self-Help category.

Benton completed her B.A. in Studio Arts, cum laude and with Distinction in Art, from the Colorado College and earned a M.S. in Creative Studies from the State University of New York’s Buffalo State College campus. Her work has appeared in Wax Fusion, Mixed Media Art Magazine, Professional Artist Magazine, and The Climbing Art, among others. She has shown in galleries from coast to coast, and has taught for Art Unraveled, The Nature Printing Society Annual Workshop, and the Painting with Fire online encaustic masterclass. She has also developed a line of stencils for Stencil Girl based on her nature prints. 

Bridget Benton currently lives in Asheville, NC. She is an exhibiting artist and the lead encaustic instructor at 310 Art in the historic River Arts District, and her work is also represented in Asheville by Art Play Studio. You can see more of her work online at www.BridgetBentonArt.com, and on Instagram @BridgetBentonArtist.