Women United ART PRIZE 2023
Photography & Printmaking Category
finalist
ARTIST BIO
Vermont-based artist Ceili Seipke navigates multiple mediums, using her background in painting and photography to craft enchanting encaustic portraits that transport you to a realm of dreams. Born to Hungarian immigrant parents in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Ceili is not only a first-generation college graduate with a BFA in Painting, but also a dedicated mother whose art endeavors were limited while raising her three children and working as a Behavioral Interventionist.
In 2019, Ceili reignited her creative spark through a local solo photography exhibit of her fantasy portraiture. As the pandemic reshaped life in 2020, she shifted away from photography and capitalized on the opportunity to diversify and expand her artistic talents.
This resulted in Ceili garnering an online solo exhibition of her encaustic photography and recognition across prominent platforms. Her encaustic creations have been featured in the spring 2023 edition of Art Seen Magazine and a special edition of Women United Art Magazine in the same year. Notably, she emerged as a finalist in The Women’s United Art Prize 2022 in the Photography & Printmaking category and secured The People’s Choice Award at the Burlington South End Art Hop 2022.
Discovering the power of artistic communities by being an active member of various local and global art collectives and being inspired by her own journey of redefining her artistic identity, Ceili launched The Art Dames Society in March 2023—an international network that provides support to women creatives of all levels, spanning diverse artistic mediums. Ceili's personal experience continues to fuel her resolve to empower kindred women artists. Her journey and mission gained traction through an interview on Women United ART PODCAST and a feature in Women United ART MAGAZINE’s summer 2023 issue.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Even though I cycle through a diversity of mediums in my art, photography is a constant that I come back to. I specialize in capturing fantasy portraiture that transports viewers into captivating alternate worlds. My passion lies within the small sub-genre of ethereal women, focusing on their mesmerizing allure and the aura of their surroundings. Ethereal portraiture truly ignites my creative spirit because it provokes emotions and dreams which invite the viewer into a world beyond the mundaneness of earthly life.
Ethereal women embody a timeless and captivating feminine beauty that is neither youthful nor sexual. They exude an aura of profound maturity and wisdom, even in their youth, and possess an innate sense of depth, as if they carry the wisdom of ages within, exuded through an “old soul’s” gaze along with a subtle, knowing half-smile.
Subjects are posed in elements of nature, cloaked in the delicate veils of mist, sunlight, or twilight, and emanate a diaphanous quality that is difficult to describe but undeniable in its presence. I adorn them in ensembles I fashion from both store-bought items and hand-sewn pieces made of fabrics that appear weightless, with hints of translucency that add to their otherworldly charm, yet I give them a contemporary edginess with the juxtaposition of heavier more masculine footwear, grounding them to the earth. I shoot as much as possible in-camera then use adjustment layers in software to polish details and enhance the atmosphere before printing the image on fine art paper.
My goal is to capture the delicate balance between the human form and the intangible, to encapsulate a sense of wonder and curiosity through these evocative images. I invite you to step into my world of ethereal portraiture and explore the uncharted territories residing on the cusp of imagination and allurement.
South Burlington, VT / United States
