Birmingham Open Studios Artist Spotlight: Mitch Schofield
Prepare to have your mind blown, Mitch Schofield isn’t your average artist. She’s a flaming, fierce trailblazer bringing the ancient art of encaustic into the 21st century with a blowtorch, no less. If you thought art was boring, think again. Mitch is here to set the record straight and possibly your heart on fire too. The Prodigy has got nothing on her.
This Birmingham-based artist is a modern-day alchemist, turning beeswax, resins, and pigments into luminous, layered masterpieces that buzz with life. “I’m excited to spread the word about this 3000-year-old, long-lost art technique, still relevant, still radical, and still largely unknown in the UK,” she says, and she means it.
Her work isn’t just fiery, it’s fiercely personal. Every layer tells a story, some drawn from lived experience, some literally ground from it. Mitch’s 30-year journey with bipolar disorder finds its way into the wax itself, sometimes through pigments inspired by medication, always through the emotional depth of each piece.
But what makes her stand out? Fire. She’s literally firing up her art, melting, fusing, and transforming materials with serious passion. Her process? A little mad, deeply tactile, and totally captivating. She builds up layers, then heats them with precision until they fuse and melt together. The materials speak, and what they become is something entirely new. Her work hums with history and radiates with depth.
She treats her studio like a lab, part archive, part alchemy, where materials collide and reactions spark something unexpected. The physicality of heating, layering, and fusing is central to her practice. It’s a dance between control and spontaneity, texture and translucency, surface and depth.
Both Weekends, Saturday only, September 20th & 27th
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Seventh Circle Gallery, Digbeth
Get front-row seats to her live demos and watch her wield a blowtorch like an absolute rockstar, creating art in real time creating pure magic.
She’ll also be displaying finished works: moody, vibrant, deeply personal pieces alongside vivid, abstract explosions. It’s a feast for the senses and a masterclass in pushing boundaries.
Why You Need to Be There
Because this is how art should be: wild, rebellious, and mesmerising. Witness an ancient art form reimagined with blazing modernity.
We’ll be spotlighting more artists in the run-up to BOS, each one a glimpse into their process and the person behind it. Keep an eye on the blog and our socials for sneak peeks, demo schedules, and behind-the-scenes magic.
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