There comes a point in every growing project when the project starts making decisions for you.

For the past several months, Weave of Life has been growing in our apartment living room. My encaustic painting table in one corner, the Glowforge on a folding table by the window, materials stacked along every wall, and Huxtable, my old grumpy studio dog, holding down the one small couch.

It worked. The panels kept coming. But somewhere along the way, Charlie and I stopped being able to move through our own home without shifting things out of the way first. The project had taken over.

So I made a decision. I'm renting a studio space.

It felt like the right moment for a few reasons. The most practical one: 300 panels need to be installed at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids on September 12th. The project needs room to breathe and so do we.

But there's a more meaningful reason too.

The studio I'm moving into is shared with Lyndy of Studio Vwazen. Two years ago I did my fellowship at Studio Vwazen, it was where I dove fully into the world of encaustics for the first time, where Weave of Life began to take the shape it has now. Coming back to that space, to that community, to make the largest iteration of this project yet feels like something more than coincidence.

The new studio gives Weave of Life room to grow. It gives Charlie and me our home back. And it gives me the mental space to focus on what the next few months require.

Huxtable, for his part, has already claimed a spot on the floor.

Some things don't change.

Weave of Life opens at ArtPrize 2026 at Monroe Community Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, September 18 through October 3. Artists' reception September 16, 4 to 7pm. To inquire about the work, reach out at nancy@nancyfritzart.com​