The Creative Process
It starts with a piece of wood, wax, a dash of color, and fire…
· Encaustic Wax is made from beeswax, Damar resin and pigment. It can be used as paint in its molten form, but can also be carved, scraped and built up to a highly textured surface to name a just a few of the many techniques Encaustic artist have used for centuries. I employ propane torches and a variable heat gun to fuse this paint to the wood substrate, and yes, working with fire is FUN! One of my favorite techniques is known as a shellac burn; fire is applied to pigmented Shellac that has been painted onto the surface of an Encaustic Wax surface. The result is a lace like pattern across the face of a painting.
I am lucky enough to have a home studio in Toano, VA. It is always expanding and changing, like the work itself
Ordered Chaos... an army of pots containing Encaustic Wax reside on 5 griddles running at about 200 degrees.
My husband makes all of my frames and ornaments for painting. We work together to stain or paint each frame to suit each piece.