PAS DE DEUX 

The work presented in Pas de Deux is both very personal and universal. It is about love and loss. In June 2023, Eileen lost the love of her life, Steve Derrickson, to cancer. He was a lifelong artist and had had a number of used drop cloths. As a way of working through her grief, Eileen began making art from Steve’s drop cloths and other discarded items, upcycling them into art. This work is named Pas de Deux for the spiritual dance Eileen and Steve continue to do in the studio they once shared.



Pas de Deux, Queen of Rogues Gallery, Glenford, NY. October 2024. Video by Mimi Young and Richard Hall.

Pas de Deux I, 2024, used drop cloths, textile hardener, liquid graphite, glue, on cradled wood panel, 32 x 76 inches

Pas de Deux II, 2024, used drop cloths, textile hardener, liquid graphite, glue, on cradled wood panel, 32 x 76 inches

Pas de Deux III, 2024, used drop cloths, textile hardener, liquid graphite, glue, on cradled wood panel, 32 x 76 inches

Pas de Deux (detail)
Pas de Deux (detail)
Pas de Deux (detail)

Pas de Deux I, II, and III Installation

Requiem, 2024, used drop cloth, paint, paint brush, glue, encaustic, and cut nails, 42 x 84 inches

Spirit Dance, 2024, used drop cloth, textile hardener, liquid graphite, acrylic paint, glue, on cradled wood panel, 56 x 84 inches

Spirit Dance (detail)
Hope Springs Eternal
2022
used drop cloth, paint rags, thread and steel
64 x 38 inches
Grief II
2024
cut drop cloths, paint and graphite
Grief
2024
cut drop cloths, paint and graphite
42 x 52 inches
Grief (Detail)
Tattered, Not Torn
2024
used carpets fragments, graphite, acrylic paint on cradled wood panels
26 x 20 inches, 12 x 9 inches each panel
Only Love
2024
used drop cloth, liquid graphite, paint, glue, paint brush and wood
70 x 44 inches
Samurai Soul
2024
used drop cloths, thread, glue, cut nails, liquid graphite, cradled wood panel
64 x 26 inches
Ascension
2023
used ladders, used paint rags, liquid starch, twine
94 x 58 inches
Only Love II
2024
fragments of drop cloths, graphite, encaustic, oil stick on cradled wood panel
24 x 18 inches
Megalith I
2024
used drop cloth fragments, liquid graphite, encaustic and oil stick on cradled wood panel
30 x 24 inches
Grounded
2024
cradled wood panels, used drop cloths, liquid graphite, encaustic, and oil stick
10 x 8 inches each
No Birth, No Death, No Fear, Only Love
2024
used drop cloth, graphite, cradled wood panel, cut nails
18 x 24 inches
Primal
2024
carpet and drop cloth fragments, encaustic, oil paint, graphite on cradled wood panels
7 x 5 (each panel)
Masculin et Feminin
2023
Bra and panties sewn into a used dropcloth
36 x 22 inches