Hello Bees!

In keeping with our podcast theme this summer, we would like to report some of the wealth of information we gathered while at the Third Annual Encaustic Painting Conference this June. Today’s topic will focus on the importance of using archival materials in artwork.

I began the first day of workshops with a Color Mixing demo with Hylla Evans of Evans Encaustics. The workshop began with a Q & A on archival inks and pigments. She stated that anything that lasts less than one hundred years is “performance art.” I agree that our art should stick around for awhile! Here are some tips I picked up from this workshop:

• “Archival inks” for printers are not always art archival. Always check with the manufacturer before use.
• Laser and inkjet prints are not archival.
• Dye-based inks will fade, but pigment-based inks will last longer.
• Cheap copy ink (black only) is archival if carbon-based.
• India ink is archival; just allow it to dry before adding anything on top of it.
• Black “Sharpie” permanent markers will last but color markers will not. Hylla recommended only Sharpies, not other permanent marker brands.

If you have any other tips on archival inks or materials, leave them in the comments!

Kathryn