Back to Encaustic in the New Year

Something shifted for me on New Years Eve and Day, I found myself actually cranking up my hot plate and electric skillet filled with encaustic medium and losing myself in the dreamy process of painting in encaustic.

It has been months, and months since I last felt the urge and acted on it.
Once I started playing, I went back to the process every day for four days in a row.  What a joy.  One thing led to another, and I wound up expressing some ideas that have been stirring for a while.

When I first began painting with encaustic, I was drawn to its textural possibilities, but lately my draw has been what happens when the densely colored  paint blends and merges as it is fused with the hot air gun.  I am in love with the sheen, and the smooth glasslike glow that emerges when it is polished to a shine.  Each of these pieces began with alot of encaustic medium and color that was played with and coalesced into a brilliant explosion of color and organic form.

Then I took a bone folder and  burnished  zerox transfers of photographs the I have taken over the wax,  and embellished it with more paint and mixed media to create each of these paintings.

I am in love again.  What a way to start the New Year.  Ya Fatah!

I can't wait to continue on this theme, with my paint, but this Sunday, Patricia and I are facilitating a New Years, Mandala Retreat Day,....so I need to put away my hot plates and paint for a bit to set the studio up for the 12 people who are coming to draw and open to the New Cycle with us.

So next time I plan to post photos of that workshop.  But you can be sure, that soon after I will set up my encaustic supplies and dive in.  I am also planning on doing another encaustic workshop sometime in February.  Life is good.  Blessings to all. 

Engaging Day Exploring Encaustic

The small group of women who came to my encaustic class last weekend, were totally engaged and lost in the process.

 I love it when participants explore process deeply without attachment to outcome,

just diving in and seeing what the media can accomplish.

This is what happened

 everyone meshed

 and that wonderful

creative buzz

of focused,

yet playful

energy

filled

the studio.

Encaustic Open Studio Monday.....

On Monday morning, three women who have been coming regularly to my studio for encaustic classes, joined me in an open studio morning.  After a weekend of hot hot weather here in Northern California, it was a lovely welcome relief to have a cool morning.  The natural air conditioning of the great mother Pacific, brought us relief.  Perfect for working in encaustic.  

I am posting the work that emerged that a.m. 

This piece is one that I worked on with a background I have been struggling with for awhile, finally coming together.  Cheese cloth, collage, photo transfer and sennileir oil pastels over the encaustic.  The image is a from a photograph that I took in Sicily of an altar in the side of one of my relatives houses.     I love it.  It is small but strong.  

Liz continues to work on her family photos in the piece...

with a map of Texas collaged into the encaustic.

This is one of Paula's dragon fly encaustics....

sure looks like a fairy doesn't it.

 I love the colors. 

Another one of Paula's  so rich with beeswax...yumm.

             Peace..

Honey bee was done by   Randy who is a beekeeper. 

The only person who came her is new to the medium... this was her first try at encaustic, 

she is a natural.

Another encaustic by Randy.

I drew with oil pastels on cradled clayboard for this piece, and applied encaustic medium very thickly over it. I love the colors.. This piece however, does not exist anymore. I kept adding colors and working it and it now is something else.  It has become the first image on this post.  NOt sure it is complete either...but I have lost the original....we shall see where the Dream goes.  

Encaustic Dreamscapes

The Encaustic Dreamscape day was very intriguing, everyone not only got totally into the process of working in encaustic, but also gained insight and joy from the pieces they created.  As is the case with all art making, the art gave us information  that was revealing, sometimes unexpected and filled with hope.

I enjoyed incorporating guided imagery, free writing and intention setting into the encaustic experience.  I am sure I will do this again in the future.

Here are some photos from the class.

This is my dreamscape, incorporating photo transfer, collage and oil pastels drawn directly onto the substrate board.  It is in process, but made me aware of where my personal focus for change is meant to be.

Creating a new home...

Here is Patti sharing her dreamscape piece

Buddha

Ani's icon.....

Finding, embracing and loving the authentic self

Paula sharing the story behind her piece 

The Portal

Here is Victoria sharing about her Dreamscape Portal....

....in process.....

Patti's vision board....to help manifest the perfect new home....in process

....The beginning place for Paula's Dreamscape

and   Fusing, of course......

A Breather after Encaustic weekend

After a full and engaging Mothers Day weekend of facilitating two days of Encaustic painting with others, I have been taking a breather.  

What a wonderful way to self-mother...working in the studio with other enthusiastic women.  

Day one was basically and encaustic open studio, with only one participant new to the medium.  Although I am missing photos of two artists work, here are some images of encaustics created that day.

On Sunday we focused on creating Dreamscapes or Vision Encaustics, and what emerged were some powerful pieces.  I will add them later.  

Encaustic Workshop This Weekend!

Yesterday, after mixing up another batch of medium and finishing the organization of my studio, I did this encaustic painting, integrating several photo transfer images.  The house is a photo taken up at Howards creek ranch, I also added some sunflowers from my past gardens and a bird.  I think... I added a bit too much to this piece. 

It is in process, and I am not sure if I will scrape some of it down, add some texture and or more medium over it.  We shall see.   

 I am looking forward to a full weekend of working in encaustic with others.  

On Sunday we will be focusing on creating Encaustic Dreamscape Vision boards primarily.  I look forward to seeing what others will do.  I have been gathering images and ideas for what I plan to work on.  

I will be an exciting mothers day weekend.  I will post photos from the workshops, sometime next week, when I have the time.  Happy Mothers Day to all.  I am finally mothering myself on Mothers Day by indulging in non stop art making.  What can be better.  Ciao Caterina

Encaustic Incarnation #3 The Bird and the Butterfly

Today I went into the studio, planning on making some more medium.  But something else happened.  I had this piece that I was scraping away the wax from, which had 2 previous totally different lives and identities.  I decided to play with contrasting colors and see what happened. 

Using 2 different transfers  from old lithographs, and cheesecloth, the Bird and the Butterfly came to visit, or rather live.  I am getting simpler in my work, after having been very textured and elaborate in my earlier encaustic work.  This piece highlights the luminosity of the colors, which is one of the things I love, love love about encaustic paint.  The cheese cloth dipped and saturated in encaustic medium, and painted over  with encaustic paint, does something incredible to the piece.  

It appears I am onto a new direction once again, after falling in love with blending colors and photo transfer I am now feeling braver about adding texture.  What a satisfying day. 

Getting Ready Gets me WoRkInG !!! again....

As I begin to prepare for two encaustic workshops I am facilitating next weekend, I primed my creative pump a bit and did a new piece that I love.  It seems that gathering my materials, organizing my supplies, cleaning the space and preparing for others to come join me, allows connections to happen and all of a sudden things fall into place and I am working.  Hallelulia, is that the key, creating and inviting an resource filled environment for others, creates it for myself, and I become motivated.  

I have always been drawn to prayer flags, as and image and a metaphor. I love the concept of prayers and dreams symbolically represented in form, and then being dissolved and transmitted through the wind.   Over the years I have made many prayer flags and led my students in many prayer flag experiences.   I had a copy of a photo graph of prayer flags high in the mountains of nepal....and made a zerox copy of it, waiting for inspiration.

After creating and encaustic background, I transfered the image and immersed some cheescloth in encaustic medium., fused it all together and added encaustic paint to the cheesecloth.   That is the physical process, but the outcome some how really excites me and touches me deeply.   So I am sharing the image here.  It feels like an ephipany, somehow.  

Today I went to western Farms and bought more beeswax and I am so excited about getting ready.   

Some Photos from Encaustic Open Studio Day

Last Saturday I had an open Encaustic Studio Day at my studio.  There were four of us and the day was spent intensely focused on working with our individual processes.  I didn't get many photos, I was too immersed in my own process, but thought I would post what I have.

  some delicious colors of R&F paints....
A work in progress....I love the actual metal gate on the sides of the image.
Cutting, sorting, and playing with possibilities.....
Fusing, again and again of course.....




Once again, I cleaned and put aside my encaustic supplies.  This time I have to make some new medium before I can begin again, but I've 2 pounds of beeswax ready to go, so perhaps this weekend.  I love to do this work.  I feel blessed to have people come to my studio to work and learn this process with me, as well as the infinite possibilities that open in my mind when I am working.  The last two encaustic are ones I did this weekend.  My maternal great grandparents...and a Soaring bird.