Pamela Kainz is an artist who doesn’t just see beauty in the world — she creates it from what others discard. With a background in neuroscience and a childhood spent on a farm in Wisconsin, she is well versed in identifying problems and finding creative solutions. Kainz, now 54, applies her practical skills to her passion for transforming materials — mostly wood — into meaningful works of art. Her “paintbrush” is a torch, and she forages for wood or finds it at construction sites.
Kainz doesn’t label herself an environmental artist. However, her work carries a conservation message. It encourages viewers to think twice about what they discard and to appreciate the simple beauty of natural materials. The Scope spoke with Kainz about her art and an artists’ role in social change.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Q: Can you share some details about your background and how you started your journey as an artist?
My background is in science, but I started off life as a creative kid. I was often drawing, collecting things and creating whatever I could with what I had. The hands-on experience of interacting with nature got me interested in that process. Science spoke to that in terms of problem-solving. With the work that I did, which was studying the genetics and anatomy of a part of our visual system known as the retina, you get into nature’s aesthetics, in a way, in terms of how cells are layered and organized and how they look when things go wrong. All those ingredients kind of led me in this direction.
Q: What kind of work are you currently focused on?
I’m currently using wood that I foraged from forests, collected from construction sites or bought at a local building supply store. These aren’t things usually seen as important or beautiful and I’m trying to figure out a way to bring some attention to them. Fire torches are my paintbrush. Fire is a simple, primal and unpredictable tool, and I love the rich textures and dark, often iridescent, colors that it brings out of wood.
Q: What kind of impact are you hoping to make with your art?
I want to show deep reverence for natural materials, especially wood. Hopefully, it inspires people to look more carefully at things and maybe use stuff that they were going to throw away and be creative with it. I want to give a shout-out for nature, but also encourage creativity. Everyone has garbage, whether it’s sticks in their yard or cardboard boxes. What can you do with it?
Q: What role do you think artists play in driving social change?
I think it’s one of the best voices out there. It gives people a chance to think outside their everyday thoughts. Hopefully, it gets them thinking differently, whether it’s about nature, destruction or social injustice. At its best, art can inspire a more careful look or deeper thoughts on these topics.
Q: Can you describe a recent project that you’re particularly proud of?
A recent project I’m proud of was the result of a couple years of collecting roots from the woods. The roots I was interested in are from a tree called Juniper, but it’s known more commonly as an aromatic cedar. These trees have that smell that’s characteristic and that smell comes from oils in the wood, which also happens to protect dead cedar trees in the forest from degrading. You can come upon these tree trunks with the roots attached that have all these natural angles and shapes all intact and you can begin to appreciate how this once tree stood up.
A friend of mine and I foraged 12 of these roots and I charred them, then inverted them and mounted them on the ground. These roots represent strength and endurance, as if they’re still protecting something.
Q: How has your personal history influenced your art?
We didn’t have much money growing up, so we used everything we had. We heated our home in Wisconsin by burning wood that had been salvaged from demolished builds. The idea of fulfilling one of our basic needs by using discarded materials stuck with me. Even some of our decorations were from reclaimed material. When my mom came across two stainless-steel meat racks from an old butcher shop, she thought about what she could do with them. Next thing you know, she put them up on our kitchen wall and painted a fish head on one end and tail on the other, and just like that we had a fun, one-of-a-kind fish mural. Here’s something that’s going to be thrown away. Does it stir any creativity? What can come of it? I carry that resourcefulness into my work.
Q: What’s next for you and your art?
That’s very tough because I’m an “in the moment” person and I don’t like thinking too far ahead. Right now, I’m building my practice and making art that I want to share with people. Literally speaking, my work is getting bigger and more three dimensional, but in terms of career goals, I’m still figuring it out. I’m just now starting to pursue different ways of showing my work more and to a wider audience through social media and seeing how that goes.