Wax Day - the first in 2016

I spent a day recently with Jeri Macdonald working in encaustic.  Fun fun!  Finished up a few pieces in process, and did some new ones as well.  Here is a peek:

5"x5", encaustic on panel

5"x5", encaustic on panel

5"x5", encaustic on panel

6"x6", encaustic on panel

6"x6", encaustic on panel

6"x6", encaustic on panel

6"x6", encaustic on panel

I guess I am still in the STRIPES mode.  You can see two other posts about encaustic here and here.  These two posts have links to further information and resources.  Thanks for visiting!

Another Wax Day

Another day of working in encaustic resulted in a few pieces that I think are finished, and several more in the works.  I went to Jeri MacDonald's studio in Cambridge, NY, which is not far from Rupert.  I LOVE working with another artist!!!  It's great to have someone to comment on the work when I'm not sure what to do next.  We do this for each other, and it does smooth out the process beautifully.

Here are a the pieces I'm considering finished:

Thanks for visiting!

Encaustic on Paper

I had another Wax Day the other week, with Jeri MacDonald (as soon as she gets her web site updated, I will post a link).  I love working with encaustic on paper.  This is 300# hot press watercolor paper, Arches, I believe.  We both work with encaustic medium, a few colors, oil stick or pigment stick, and a bit of oil paint. Here are a few of my 5"x5" pieces:

The pattern of circles on the left is incised with a stylus while the wax is warm.  Incised lines on the right, the dark ones, are rubbed with oil paint.

This one is probably not finished, well, definitely not finished. Not sure where it will go next.

The color in these that looks like Qinacridone Gold (an acrylic color) is Alizarin Orange.  I have it in encaustic paint and oil paint.

Wax Day

Yesterday I spent the day at Jeri McDonald's studio doing small encaustic paintings on paper. I haven't done encaustic in a while, and it was great to get back to it.

5"x5" (they are all 5"x5"), encaustic and oil paint on 300# paper

5"x5", encaustic and oil paint on 300# paper

This one is unresolved.

This one is barely started, but I love the line work.

This one is not done, but close.

Jeri's palette

My palette

Jeri's piece, which I bought last spring, 5"x5"

Another of Jeri's, 5"x5"

My favorite suppliers of encaustic materials and tools are R&F Paints and Enkaustikos.  Enkaustikos offers anodized aluminum plates that you can put on your pancake griddle and create a better heated palette (more even heat than the pancake griddle alone).  The light aluminum surface is nice if you are working with color.  Jeri works exclusively with the pancake griddle, as she works mostly in black, white, and neutrals.  I use R&F's heated palette. 

I LOVE working with another artist or small group of artists.  Somehow, chatting while working provides just enough distraction to not get too hung up on the frustrations of making art.  The obvious advantage is getting another pair of eyes on your work.  It was a really fun day, and I hope we can do it again soon. 

Plaster and Wax, Part 2

Here is the second video demonstration on Plaster and Wax, which I'll be teaching at Art Unraveled in Phoenix on August 6, and again at Art and Soul in Portland on October 2. If you haven't already, take a look at Part 1.  There are so many techniques you can use on the plaster itself, and then again over the encaustic.  In this video I use Caran D'ache water soluble crayons on the encaustic surface.  Oil pastels, india ink, graphite, china marker, and many other materials are also compatible with encaustic.

Plaster and Wax

I've been posting my encaustic scribble paintings on paper, but I thought I'd give you a taste of what we'll be doing in Plaster and Wax, a workshop I will be teaching at Art Unraveled in Phoenix on August 6, and again at Art and Soul in Portland on October 2. 

I will post another installment of this demonstration, including application of encaustic medium and then drawing on the encaustic surface.  Stay tuned.

Encaustic on painted plaster texture

Encaustic on painted plaster texture, with crayon and ink drawing

Upcoming Retreats

fabric-paper in progress

Just a reminder of upcoming workshops this summer:

In July, I will be teaching at CREATE, hosted by Interweave Press, in Somerset, NJ:

• Wednesday, July 18, Fabric-Paper, 9 - 4
• Wednesday, July 18, Fusion Fabric, 6 - 9
• Thursday, July 19, Unbinding the Visual Journal, 9 - 4
• Thursday, July 19, Scribble Paint, 6 - 9

There are just a few spaces left in each of the above.

encaustic with plaster on panel

In August I'm returning to Art Unraveled in Phoenix:

• Sunday, August 5, Fabric-Paper
• Monday, August 6, Plaster and Wax 

Register here.
I'll be returning to Art and Soul in October:

• Monday, October 1, Abstract Landscape
• Monday, October 1, evening, Scribble Paint
• Tuesday, October 2, Plaster and Wax
• Tuesday, October 2, evening, Intro to Encaustics
  

The above daytime classes are almost full.

Collage Journeys in Vermont will take place here in Rupert, August 14 - 18 (Tue. - Sat.). This year's focus is on color and abstract composition.  Some of our activities will include:

• scribble painting
• staining tissue paper
• working with a gel plate
• working large
• collage marathons
• working in series
• keeping a sketchbook of ideas

 I have two spaces left for this workshop.


Later in August I'll be teaching at CREATE in Chicago.  The line-up includes:

visual journal page spread

• Wednesday, August 22, Fabric-Paper
• Thursday, August 23, Unbinding the Visual Journal
• Thursday, August 23, evening, Scribble-Paint

One more thing:  my next online workshop begins July 25, with Keys to Dynamic Composition.

scribble painting

Encaustic Conference

I just got back on Monday from the 6th International Encaustic Conference, hosted by Joanne Mattera and Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill.  There were loads of informative talks and demos by very experienced and knowledgeable artists, and tons of art to see.  Fourteen galleries in Provincetown had shows related to the conference, some curated by conference presenters and attendees.  Really fabulous stuff.  If you go to the Encaustic Conference blog (link above), check out all the blogs, websites, and resources in the right margin.  I can't begin to choose which art and artists to show you here, as there were so many fabulous ones.  But I will just pick a few.

Tracy Spadafora gave a great demo on getting maximum optical and physical depth in encaustic. 

Spill, 2010, encaustic, collage, & oil on braced wood panel, 12 x 12 inches

Lynda Ray demonstrated the use of stencils and the "accretion" technique, both of which can be used to create deep texture.

Scuttle, encaustic on panel, 18"x24"

Toby Sisson gave a talk on the art of critique, urging us to use more descriptive language rather than value-laden language when critiquing artwork.  Being a teacher and online workshop instructor, this was particularly helpful to me.  She gave us ideas about asking questions and raising issues rather than "liking" a piece or labeling it "good" or "bad". 

Garden of Secrets, encaustic monotype on paper mounted on panel, 16"x28"

Sherrie Posternak, I discovered, had been involved with PaperWorks in Tucson, where I will be teaching in January 2013.  She does really interesting work in encaustic on paper, fabric, and cotton quilt batting, in addition to wood panel.

Wall + Street, encaustic and photo transfer on panel, 34"x24"

I could go on and on posting images of gorgeous work from websites of people I met at the conference.  I'll list just a few more:  Nancy Natale's Art in the Studio blog; Gregory Wright, who curated a show called "Pollination"; Laura Moriarty, who works at R&F Paints and gave a talk on how to fund your work; Kim Bernard, who curated one of the encaustic shows at last year's conference and offers encaustic retreats in Maine. OK, you get the idea. 

I will be teaching Plaster and Wax at Art Unraveled in Phoenix on August 6, and also at Art and Soul in Portland, OR, on October 2.  I will be teaching Introduction to Encaustics at Art and Soul as well on the evening of October 2.  I'm offering Paper and Wax: Encaustic Collage at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford CT on October 13 - 14.

Thanks for visiting!

Faculty Show at Guilford Art Center

I just got this Virtual Gallery link to the faculty exhibition at Guilford Art Center, in which I had several pieces a few months ago.  There is lots of gorgeous work, including ceramics, textiles, glass, painting, sculpture, and more.  I love teaching at Guilford.  My next workshop there is Paper and Wax: Encaustic Collage, on October 13 and 14.  It will be listed in their next catalog, and I'll post the description soon.

Thanks for visiting.

Art and Yoga

As an artist and a yoga practitioner I see connections between art and yoga ALL THE TIME.  I am longing to develop some kind of art workshop that focuses on those connections, one that presents art-making as a kind of yoga practice, as a meditation.  But when it comes time to verbally articulate that strong connection that I feel in my gut, I come up short.  So I thought I'd throw it out there and see what you think of the idea.  Here are a few (possibly disjointed) thoughts:

• Yoga, done properly, calms and focuses the mind.  When I am in my art-making zone (which doesn't happen in every session; so be it) my mind is focused and in some non-linear place, transcending reason and logic.  Calm?  Maybe excited, maybe calm, it depends.  Maybe this is the switch-over to the right brain, as described by Betty Edwards in "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain".  Or maybe it is a more spiritual thing.  Or both.

• In this "zone" I let go of attachment to a particular outcome.  In yoga, you don't strive to achieve a perfect posture, but rather let the posture be a vehicle for paying attention to your own body, your sensations, responses,  and finding your own edge.  You use the posture as a tool for awareness, not as a goal to achieve.  Likewise, in art-making you can pay attention to what IS, and pay attention to your own responses.  Let what is on the canvas/paper/cloth be what it is, and respond to that, rather than comparing it to some mental construct of what it ought to be.  Of course, it is always a balancing act, both in yoga and in art-making: where do you direct things a little, when do you allow yourself to be directed?

• This connection may be a stretch (so to speak), but I see in art-making a distinct integration of process, material, and idea.  You can give varying importance to these elements, but they are all in there, united.  A distinguishing characteristic of yoga is that it unites mind, body, and spirit.  Some aspects of yoga emphasize the spiritual, where other emphasize the physical or mental, but in all yoga practices these elements are all there, united.   

Of course, I can't do a post without images, so here are a few of my recent encaustic pieces.

This is stage 2 of a work in progress, 8"x8".  I used a torch to burn the paper-laminated wood panel, then coated it with encaustic medium and a little color (alizarin orange):

This is a work on paper, 9"x9", using encaustic, collage, and india ink:

 

 This is also on paper, 4"x6", in encaustic and collage.  It is for a Post Card show, which will be on exhibit at the Sixth International Encaustics Conference this June:

In my relatively new encaustic endeavors I'm especially aware of the anxieties that can accompany exploration of new territory.  This is where the non-judgement and steadiness of effort - two pillars of yogic thought - come into play.  Let me know your thoughts!  Thanks for visiting.