This summer, a few BEE members participated in an Object Challenge. We each sent objects to another BEE member and received our own. The challenge was to incorporate whatever we received in the mail into a finished encaustic piece. Thanks to all who participated! I hope you enjoy the results

From Melissa Hronkin:

From Caterina Martinico:

I received a pattern piece and a nylon stocking from Shannon Newby.  At first I was totally at a loss for what to do, but then I began to make some personal connections with the stocking and some old photos of my mother who was quite a looker in her day.  I found several great vintage photos and the inspiration began to brew.  I used the nylon as a textural border around the cradled hardboard and a part of the pattern piece, which happened to be a pantie pattern as the basis of the piece.  From there I covered it all with encaustic medium and paint and did a photo transfer over the entire thing with a copy of the photo.  At first I was completed dis-satisfied but as I got into it I found the nylon a wonderful sculptural element and began to be totally engaged. It became part of my ongoing, developing series of ancestor icons.

From Shannon Newby:

Suitcase Heart, 10 x 10 x 3″ encaustic, mixed media on panel

I got a letter in the mail from my “secret BEE” with a cute note and my object challenge: a photocopy of a heart drawing.  I was intrigued and also relieved!   I have been doing a lot with hearts lately (anatomy drawings much like the one I received in the mail) so I was both overjoyed and excited to delve into the object challenge.  I started out with a chunky box painting I had done several weeks ago, but didn’t like the look of.  I kept the layers of green, black and milky white on the painting to give it depth, but fully intended to paint over it and give it an extreme makeover.  The heart drawing did just the trick!  After adding a few more layers of sea-foam green and an orange / pinkish color, I was ready to try the image transfer.  I wanted the transfer to be light and to really only give a starting point to the rest of the piece.  So I gently transferred parts of the heart (on the top part) of the piece.  Next, I took a sharpie and went to town adding lines, arrows, paper airplanes and a suitcase.  For my final layer, I added tissue paper dress patterns.  This softened the whole look of the piece.

I’m happy with the way this one turned out.  It was invigorating to get something in the mail and to be pushed to incorporate it into my work.  Lucky for me – hearts are popping up everywhere in my work – so this was a great fit for my current subject matter!

Thanks to my secret BEE for the inspiration for this new work, “Suitcase Heart.”  And thanks, Kathryn – for organizing this!  Sign me up to do this kind of challenge over and over again!  I feel like I grew a lot as an artist!  :)

From Veronique Latimer:

These two pieces, Wired (left) and Watchful Owl (right), were made collaging papers from Kathryn Dart.

From Kathryn Dart:

A Good Woman, 8 x 8

I received a nice collection of items from Deanna Wood: a vintage advertisement, two paper flowers, and some cards from a library card catalogue. The return address sticker on the envelope said “because equality is still an issue,” which is most likely what got me thinking in the direction this piece eventually took. It started with this 1930s Vogue ad for underwear. The text quoted a dialogue between a mother and a daughter, with the daughter exclaiming how her mother looked so slim, like “one of the girls.” I created the dotted pattern to emphasize the message of the ad, that a good woman looks (and acts) just like all the rest.

I’m so glad I did the object challenge, because I created a piece that surprised me. If you’ve seen my other work, you will notice that this looks nothing like it! The process definitely stretched me by challenging me to work outside my norms. Thanks, Deanna, for sending me some great items!

From Deanna Wood:

Melissa Hronkin sent me a lovely little red doily and some contact sheets from someone’s wedding photos, probably from the 50’s. This is what I was inspired to create:

To Have, To Hold
collage, foil transfer, and encaustic
12″ x 12″

I couldn’t bring myself to mess up the contact sheets, so I made copies and glued them to the board. Then I covered the board with clear medium and embedded the doily in the wax. Then I used some gold embossing foil (that a student gave me) – writing on it to transfer the foil to the wax.

Thanks again to everyone for participating! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.