The Alchemy of Surface and Substance: Investigating the Mixed Media Methodologies of Randy Purcell and Valerie D. Edwards
On August 9, 2026, The Copper Fox Gallery in Franklin, Tennessee, will host, “Paper Revisited,” a specialized exhibition and technical demonstration that seeks to interrogate the boundaries of contemporary mixed media. Featuring the works of Randy Purcell and Valerie D. Edwards, the event serves as a critical examination of how material transformation and the manipulation of “found” media can redefine traditional categories of painting and sculpture. By deconstructing the physical components of their work, both artists move beyond mere aesthetic representation and instead engage in a complex dialogue between the permanence of ancient techniques and the ephemerality of modern print culture.
Randy Purcell: The Encaustic Transfer as Palimpsest
The work of Randy Purcell represents a significant technical evolution in the field of encaustic art—a medium traditionally defined by the suspension of pigment in molten beeswax and damar resin. Purcell, however, deviates from the additive tradition of encaustic painting, opting instead for a sophisticated “transfer and subtraction” methodology that functions as a visual palimpsest.
Purcell’s process begins with the preparation of a wooden substrate, upon which a smooth field of encaustic wax is applied. The conceptual weight of his work lies in the source of its “pigment”: recycled magazine ink. Rather than utilizing collage—the direct adhesion of paper to a surface—Purcell transfers only the ink from the printed page onto the wax. Through a labor-intensive process of burnishing followed by the meticulous removal of paper fibers with water, the artist leaves behind a translucent, ink-embedded wax surface.
His Sunrise Pack Mule is a perfect example of the process and the effect. From a formalist perspective, the work demands a dual reading. At a distance, the mule—Purcell’s works are often rooted in pastoral and naturalistic iconography—possesses the atmospheric depth and soft focus of pictorialist photography-it is a beautiful, rustic scene.
Yet, upon closer inspection, the surface reveals its “mosaicked” origins. Fragments of contemporary typography, advertising motifs, and graphic patterns emerge from the wax, serving as the literal building blocks of the image. The apparent chiaroscuro of the stones behind the mule are recognized, on closer inspection, to be printed type. It is an interesting metaphor played out—the transferred ink of the original text becomes the source of nostalgia for the larger bucolic image. In their transfer, the details of the type are abstracted into a separate reality. The intersection of the ancient, organic medium of beeswax with the transient, commercial language of the ink creates a temporal friction, effectively freezing moments of modern ephemera within a medium known for its archival longevity. All of this to create a remarkable image of rustic charm.
Valerie D. Edwards: Structural Integrity and the Morphology of Paper
In contrast to the planar investigations of Purcell, Valerie D. Edwards utilizes mixed media to explore three-dimensional form and tactile narrative. Her practice is an exercise in the morphology of paper, transforming the two-dimensional, fragile medium of print into rigid, self-supporting sculptural entities. Edwards’ work is a testament to the structural possibilities of “paper-layering,” a technique that bridges the gap between craft and fine art.
A hallmark of Edwards’ sculptural work is the absence of a traditional internal armature. While most sculptural forms require a metal or wire skeleton for stability, Edwards achieves structural integrity through the strategic layering of wet and dry paper. Utilizing the distinctive gray and off-white tones of the Wall Street Journal, she builds up a “skin” that is up to ten layers thick, creating a lightweight yet incredibly durable shell. This process of building “from the inside out” allows for a unique fluidity of form, particularly evident in her zoomorphic sculptures, which capture a sense of organic vitality and psychological presence.
Beyond her sculpture, Edwards’ two-dimensional works further challenge the viewer’s perception of medium. Through the integration of acrylics, watercolor pencils, and ink, she creates “painted canvas illusions” that play with the depth of the picture plane. Her ability to synthesize disparate materials—wire, repurposed wood, and industrial accents—into a cohesive narrative whole reflects a deep understanding of the semiotics of materials. Similar to the work of Purcell, in Edwards’ hands, the newspaper is no longer a carrier of daily information, but a structural unit that imbues her subjects with a sense of history and textured reality.
As an example of her sculpture, her work “Challenges” carries many nostalgic symbols of a distantly remembered childhood—blocks, balls, a friendly puppy eager to play, but all in delicately faded colors. It is difficult to get past the tension and irony created with the material, a romanticized childhood glimpsed and lured out of the pages of a Wall Street Journal. Is this Citizen Cane’s Rosebud? Or was it at play with these toys that one garners the skills of a capitalist adulthood? Like any great expression, interpretations abound.
Conclusion: The Convergence of Process and Perception
The forthcoming exhibition at The Copper Fox Gallery is more than a display of finished artifacts; it is a pedagogical inquiry into the “how” of artistic creation. The inclusion of a live encaustic demonstration by Purcell underscores the gallery’s commitment to transparency in the artistic process, allowing the public to witness the chemical and physical transitions inherent in mixed media.
The pairing of Randy Purcell and Valerie D. Edwards also reflects gallery owner Talbott Grimm’s curatorial philosophy of bringing together a regional artist and one from farther afield for Copper Fox’s specialized exhibitions. Purcell, a Tennessee artist educated at Middle Tennessee State University, is presented in dialogue with Edwards, whose practice emerges from Ohio. The geographic contrast reinforces the exhibition’s broader thematic concerns: how artists from different traditions and environments can arrive at similarly transformative approaches to material and process.
In the work of both Purcell and Edwards, we find a shared preoccupation with the transformation and heightening of the mundane. By repurposing mass-produced print media through the lenses of encaustic transfer and structural paper-layering, they elevate industrial debris and organic material to the status of fine art. For the artist and the enthusiast alike, this exhibition offers a profound look at how the physical manipulation of matter can alter our perception of both the medium and the message.
“Paper Revisited” will be held at the Copper Fox Gallery, 4136 Old Hillsboro Road, Leiper’s Fork on Sunday, August 9th from 1 until 3 PM. Artwork by both artists will be available for purchase.
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Joseph E. Morgan is a father of two, husband, teacher and recovering guitarist in Middle Tennessee.
