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.

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.