Hi again,

I’m a wee bit late getting this post in but have been up to some new tricks that I wanted to share and get feedback on.  The 1st picture posted above is the one of two small paintings that I created in my 1st encaustic class. This painting (along with it’s partner) have been the most commented upon piece in my studio.  I knew as soon as I made this piece that I was smitten with the magic of beeswax and heat. To create this painting I layered on colors and then placed the wood panel face down onto my heated palette for a moment and lifted it to achieve the effect of motion. I layered beeswax over the swirled wax so it almost appears trapped under the clear layer.

Obviously you are limited by size when using the face down method so when I saw the encaustic iron (picture #2) at the conference at Montserrat I was intrigued.  I decided to play around with it last week as I set out to create a dark, murky background and was really happy with the results although it took a bit of trial and error to not get bare spots (some of my results can be seen in Photo #3).

I know that Linda Cordner uses the iron to achieve a perfectly smooth and glass like finish on her paintings.  Do you have any tips or tricks for using the iron?  Feel free to share any links to work you or another artist has created using something other than the heat gun to transform wax….and thanks for sharing!

See you next week,

Beth

I’m happy to be the first in a series of guest bloggers here on The Bee Team Blog!  I’m so impressed by the amount of energy and talent that has shown itself here over the past year and look forward to seeing what everyone else has to share in the coming months (if you haven’t blogged before here is your chance to give it a whirl!).

I recently received an inquiry from a client in Alaska.  She wanted to know if the encaustic piece she purchased would survive if she were to leave it hanging on the wall of her house if she left for a few weeks and turned off the heat.  She mentioned that when she does this she drains the pipes etc…as the temperature in the house goes well below zero but mentioned that no one would be touching the piece.  As an experiment I took a small piece and put it in my freezer for a week and then took it out and hung it on the wall. What I found was that the piece was totally fine (no bloom, cracking or changes).  If anyone out there has any experience with extreme cold and encaustics I’d love to hear from you….

Next I’d like to share a bit of work by Patricia Seggebruch (author of Embracing Encaustics).  I found this blog entry inspiring, amusing and intriguing.  The idea of using found and household items and coating the wax in such a luscious way over them has led me down a whole new path with one of my larger pieces….hmmm.  What are you layering into your pieces lately?  

And lastly,  I want to share the joy of the documentary “Herb and Dorothy” which is being screened around the country.  I’m trying to figure out how I can make it to one of the screenings ( I’ve read many stories about this couple in the paper but hearing their story in their own voices would be awesome. Their story is so facinating and speaks to my belief that original art is accesible to us all…it’s knowing what you like and making it a priority.

Oh and- a special thanks to Melissa for my extra special package ( I love, love, love all three)!

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next monday to share some new works in progress…

Beth

While perusing Lorraine Glessner’s blog, I came across the artist Leslie Wayne and was blown away by her textures.

She does this all with oil on wood. How impressive! Check out a detail shot:

I think she’d be a fantastic addition to the encaustic camp, don’t you? See more here.

“Fire & Ice,” Diane Haug

Announcements:

1. Team in Transition:

As we noted in the last email update, Shannon Newby has stepped down as head leader of the BEE Team. In case you didn’t catch it, read this blog post to hear more about her future involvement and what this means for our team.

2. Introducing a NEW website feature!

Starting in October, we will be unrolling a new feature to the website: guest blogging! Any member will have the chance to contribute content once a week for four weeks in a row to the blog. Next month, Beth Billups of tangledskystudio will be contributing articles. If you are interested in blogging for the BEE Team, hit reply to this email to let me know. (Note: bloggers will be given guidelines/ideas for blog topics as well as how-to instructions for those new to the blogging world.)

3. Monthly meetings:

As mentioned previously, we will now have monthly “meetings” (i.e. chat sessions) to brainstorm ideas and events for the BEE Team. Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend! The more members who participate, the more successful this team can be. The next meeting will take place mid-October. Be on the lookout in our next email update for a date and time.

Buzzzzzing into fall,

Kathryn and Melissa

This article recently directed me toward a new documentary about bees and beekeeping, called The Last Beekeeper. Directed by Jeremy Simmons, the film follows the lives of three beekeepers, exposing the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder and its effect on the beekeeping profession, as well as our dependency upon bees for pollination. Hopefully this film will educate and bring more awareness to the issues facing our bees.

View the trailer below, and if you still want more, treehugger.com has a forum going for people who wish to discuss the film and beekeeping issues.

It has been some time since I have been able to blog here, but I hope you have enjoyed what I’ve reported on so far. If you have any suggestions for articles, or would like to contribute one yourself, do not hesitate to let me know. We would love your input!

And now, I give you a gallery of wonderful etsy items that celebrate our wonderful buzzy friend.

Clarity by TangledSkyStudio

Announcements:

1.  Upcoming podcasts:

We’ve been talking about ways to market yourself and your art online.  Want to join the conversation before our podcasts get launched?  Give us your input here.

2.  New Bees Knees:

Melissa has been posting about beekeeping and artists who work with the theme of bees.  Learn about an upcoming book “Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper” and more here.

Busy bees and waxaholics,

Shannon, Kathryn and Melissa

When I hear the word “encaustic,” my mind immediately jumps to paintings. That is why, until attending the Third Annual Encaustic Painting Conference this June, I had not often looked for, or even paid attention to, sculpture as a medium for the use of encaustic. At the conference I had the pleasure of attending an encaustic sculpture talk by Kim Bernard, who also showed her work at the conference.

Kim covered the work of nine artists. I will share a small sampling of these, hopefully demonstrating the range of encaustic as a sculpting medium.

First up is my personal favorite, Martin Kline. I am mesmerized by his ability to continue such an organic form as wood and do it in such an unexpected way with startlingly bright colors. Be sure to check out more of his work.

Green House, encaustic on wood, 20″ x 12″ x 12″

Sylvia Netzer creates impressively large encaustic sculptures such as this one.

Glen Gary OLY, 29 x 83 x 31

Laura Moriarty has a very interesting technique. She first builds up layers and layers of wax and color on wood, then scrapes the entire thing off and reshapes the wax into beautiful formations.

Skerry, pigmented beeswax, approx. 20 x 30 ft.

You can see more of her fascinating process in this video

Last up is Kim Bernard, who put on this talk and showed at the conference. Here is piece from her Lead and Encaustic series:

Each of these artists brings something unique to sculpting with encaustic. Do you have a favorite encaustic sculptor? Please share in the comments.

Well, this is the last of our reports from the Encaustic Painting Conference. We hope you enjoyed learning a bit through out experience, and we hope you will join us next year at he conference!

Just Bee Natural by Carmenas

Announcements:

1.  Join the discussion in the forum: