Encaustic Workshop, Day Two

collage, encaustic on wood panel

oil, paper, plastic toy, metal key

encaustic on wood panel

oil, manipulated with resist

encaustic monoprint on paper

Shiva paint sticks

encaustic monoprint on paper

Shiva paintsticks and water-soluble oil pastel crayons

Day 2 of our encaustic workshop was equally satisfying. In addition to working on wood substrate we learned how to create encaustic monoprints on paper and cloth. This was fascinating to me! It opens up a new set of possibilities for combining paper and cloth. I am interested in pushing the two paper monoprints, seen above, with watercolor and cloth. Since the oil will act as a resist on the paper, I hope to overlay some watercolor and then applique some cloth onto the surface.

It was interesting to experiment with the various paint sticks and pigment in encaustic media to see how it behaved on both paper and cloth. Interestingly, the metallic Shiva paint sticks didn't work very well on either, but they were especially disappointing on the cloth. I had a set of Shiva metallic, and Shiva non-metallic (student grade). I theorize that the micah in the Shiva metallic sticks acted as a barrier to absorption. I need to test the higher grade non-metallics to see if they behave the same as the student-grade paint sticks. The best results on cloth were achieved with the water-soluble oil sticks. Another student had good results with the watercolor crayons on cloth.

It seems that very little will be needed in the way of basic supplies to do encaustic work at home: medium (which consists of beeswax and damar crystals), oil paint or encaustic pigment, and a heat-controlled surface such as a warming tray, a heat gun, and a few tools to manipulate the wax.

If I work in my home studio I will place a box fan in my studio window to vent outward. I think ventilation is an important safety concern.

My next project is to find the surface of my two studio work tables. I'm overwhelmed with post-project clutter! Help!