Sarah Feustle crafts water, one shimmering layer at a time. Using epoxy resin, iridescent liquid and carefully selected art materials, Feustle builds shifting and glistening landscapes that resemble Tennessee waterways that inspire her. “It really is a technique art, not painting,” she says. “I colored the resin, mounted them together and used different tools to get the effects that you see.”
Feustle moved to Harrison, Tennessee, after retiring from a decades-long career as a financial analyst. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, a YouTube video on resin art sparked interest in a new hobby. Her — admittedly rather expensive — experiments eventually evolved into intricate compositions involving multi-day layering, sanding between pours and using heat tools to blend tinted resin and alcohol inks, mimicking the depth, movement and froth of natural water. “Each layer cures overnight,” she says. “You’re working against dust in the air and a 45-minute clock — and mistakes aren’t cheap.” Still, she adds, the process can feel magical when it all comes together.
Her piece, “Tennessee Maclellan Island,” was composed over two weeks on a 24×36 canvas in a floating frame. Resin glides over a hand-painted shoreline, with layered textures like clump foliage and wood chips that help bring the landscape to life. “I start with a painted canvas,” Feustle says. “Then I tint resin in layers — darker in the center, lighter near the shoreline — just like the depth of real water.”
Feustle’s work is displayed and available for purchase at Sweet Maple Vintage Gifts and Home Decor in Ringgold, Georgia, and occasionally appears at the Chattanooga River Market by the aquarium in the summers. She also shares pieces on her website. “When someone connects with a piece and they’re just mesmerized, that’s the most fulfilling thing,” she says.