What Makes Me Tick
I'm a Collingwood, Ontario artist and maker working with encaustic and mixed media. My work is inspired by the beauty of nature and the rawness of rust and decay, often blending the two to create underlying tension that draws viewers in for a closer look, to discover the hidden details within.
In 2010, while working as a residential designer and raising my two young daughters, I discovered encaustic medium and immediately fell madly in love. It was so tactile and versatile, and there were tools, lots of awesome tools! Years later, I still love the unique thrill of manipulating the wax with my torch, embedding objects and materials within luminous layers, and scraping back to reveal what lies beneath. The unlimited freedom to intuitively experiment while working with my hands fulfills my lifelong desire to build, to take things apart, to make marks and play with colour.
Since 2023 I've also been writing poetry, which often finds its way into my artwork. You can catch glimpses of it within the layers of one piece or prominently scratched into the surface of another. In 2025, I exhibited with Chantal Wolf in a two-person show titled "From the Inside Out: Painting and Poetry Intertwined."
My artwork has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in Canada and the US, and I've been a member of the International Encaustic Artists since 2010.
I share my joy of creativity through teaching encaustic art workshops in my light-filled studio in Collingwood. I believe ALL people—no matter their age—deserve a safe, fun and nurturing space where they can let their inner artist out to play. For more info, visit Workshops.
New to encaustic, or curious to learn more? Dive into my Welcome to Encaustic Q+A page.
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At first glance, my work seems fairly straightforward. I love it when viewers lean in to discover the secrets tucked within its many layers.
Working intuitively through play and experimentation, I bring my whimsical, authentic self to every creative adventure. Currently, I'm intertwining my poetry with my mixed media pieces, each inspiring the other until the two become one.
Sometimes the process starts with a poem, as I weave words to conjure images that reflect my emotional response to daily life. The artwork then becomes a response to the poem. Other times it begins with layer upon layer of wax, paint, papers, photos, sketches, marks and objects. Once the physical piece is finished, the poetic words begin to flow.
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From the Inside Out:
Painting + Poetry Intertwined
Dee Hutton & Chantal Wolf
Collingwood Public Library Gallery, Collingwood, ON - 2025Wax + Water
Dee Hutton & Victoria Wallace
Nooks Studio, Toronto, ON - 2017A Creative Life
Dee Hutton
DESIGNnook, Toronto, ON - 2016Colour / Carve / Create
Dee Hutton
LucSculpture, Toronto, ON - 2013The Art of Wax
Dee Hutton
Cool East Market, Toronto, ON - 2011 -
Winter’s Gift Exhibition
BMFA, Collingwood, ON - 2025, 2024Heart of Red Gala: benefit auction for My Friend’s House
Collingwood, ON - 2025, 2024Beyond The Surface
Orillia Museum of Art & History, Orillia, ON - 2024Celebrating the Colour Turquoise
The Gallery at L.E. Shore, Thornbury, ON - 2024Dear Earth, My Love: Love Letters to the Earth
Churchill / Hutton / Wolf / Embacher, Meaford Hall Gallery, Meaford, ON - 2023Diverse Perspectives from the Bay
Hutton / Jennett / Keskikyla / Simmons, L.E. Shore Gallery, Thornbury, ON - 2023Square Foot Show
Loft Gallery, Thornbury, ON - 2022Summer Group Show
Blue Crow Gallery, Toronto, ON - 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017Annual BMFA Juried Group Show
Press Room Gallery, Collingwood, ON - 2019Small Art Big Hearts
Waddingtons Online Auction, Toronto, ON - 2018, 2017Canada 150 × 2
Yellow House Gallery & Cobalt Gallery, Toronto, ON - 2017Bees (& the Birds) Show
Toronto Etsy Street Team Gallery, Toronto, ON - 2017Winter Holiday Show
LucSculpture, Toronto, ON - 2016Encaustic Art Show
LucSculpture, Toronto, ON - 2016, 2014Telephone Project
Satellite Collective, New York, USA - 2015Group Art Show
Artisans At Work, Toronto, ON - 2015Black and White Ball
Propeller Art Gallery, Toronto, ON - 2012, 2011The Cup
Distill Gallery, Distillery District, Toronto, ON - 2011 -
IEA: International Encaustic Artists
2010-presentBlue Mountain Foundation for the Arts
2017-present