Image by BotheredByBees Flickr

Announcements:

1. Spring is Here!

With spring comes new life and rejuvenation, and hopefully, a new source of creativity! How has spring inspired you? Share with us what you’re working on here in the forums.

2.  Let’s Get Buzzing!

A hive of bees can’t function without all its members! Last week our meeting was canceled due to lack of attendance. Let’s get this team back up to speed by buzzing with participation. Hang out in the forums, contribute and article to the blog, brainstorm event ideas, add your buzz to the mix by commenting on the website, or volunteer your time to help out the team. These are just a few ways you can contribute. Email info@beeswaxteam.com if you have any ideas!

Thanks,

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!

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.

Hey there, busy bees!

Welcome to Part III of my report on the great workshop given by Daniella Woolf at the Third Annual Encaustic Painting Conference, Encaustic with a Textile Sensibility. (In case you missed it, catch up on Part I and Part II.) In Part III, we will see textile artists who could use a “medium makeover,” meaning their work/style would suit encaustic well.

Kyoung Ae Cho is a fiber artist who often burns markings into her work. Blowtorch, anyone?

Aura I, Corn leaf, silk organza, thread

Penny Young is a sculptor and installation artist. Can’t you imagine this impressive piece held together with wax?

Clerical Vortex

Clerical Vortex, detail

Next up is Will Marino. Here is a piece from his “paper series.”

Ice Flow, cut paper

Lastly, let’s look at Lisa Kokin’s sewn photographs.

Best Wishes, sewn found photographs, batting, paper

I know I have my own personal wish-list of etsy artists I would love to see use wax in their work. Who do you think should become an encaustic convert?

(As always, click here for Daniella’s online version of the talk.)

Bella Bird by SoulArteEclectica

Announcements:  

2.  New features on our team site:  

Believe it or not, we are still giving out secrets and tips from our time spent at the June Encaustic Conference!  Be sure to look for Kathryn’s articles on workshops, presentations, tips, etc now posted weekly on our website! And you may have noticed our newly added page “The Bees Knees!”  Co-leader Melissa Hronkin will keep us informed on all things bee-related!

Summer heat and melted beeswax,

Shannon, Kathryn and Melissa

While at the Third Annual Encaustic Painting Conference this June, I attended many great talks and demos. One of my favorites was a talk given by Daniella Woolf, Encaustic with a Textile Sensibility. She described a “textile sensibility” as anything that references cloth, so the piece does not have contain cloth, only reference it, to qualify.

This workshop was a wonderful overload of visual stimulation and inspiration (we were shown the work of 40+ artists), so I have decided to do this post in parts. For Part 1, I want to share a few artists who incorporate actual textiles into their work in some way (click on artist’s name for images on individual website).

Daniella Woolf incorporates textiles into encaustic by sewing objects together and coating or embedding them with the wax medium. A piece I find particularly stunning is Beauty at My Feet, which features eucalyptus leaves sewn together.

Cari Hernandez mixes encaustic with silk in this beautiful piece, Four Channel.

Lorrie Fredette combines encaustic, sculpture and textiles in this installation called A Pattern of Connections.

In Part 2, I’ll share artists from Daniella’s talk whose encaustic works allude to textiles. Click here for Daniella’s online version of the talk.

Have you tried including fabrics in your encaustic works? Any other artists who do this that you’d like to share?

Blue Lotus Water by ReneedeMontaigne

Annoucements:

1.  The Buzz (Podcast): If you haven’t checked out our latest podcast, be sure to tune in for an interview with Tangledskystudio!  To hear this one and previous podcasts, click here.   

2.  Summer Object Challenge: For all participants, there are a few weeks left to finish your pieces!  Please include a photograph of the work, and a brief description to Kathryn at (barnes.kathryn@gmail.com) by July 31st.  

3.  Team Forum: New poll question this week in our team forum: “Do you have a portfolio website?  If so – is it helpful in terms of marketing your artwork?”

4.  Ad Space: if you’d like to promote your work, your website, etc with an ad space on our team site, please contact us at info@beeswaxteam.com to set it up.  

5. Calls for Encaustic Art: Deadlines are quickly approaching for some of the upcoming encaustic shows.  See the Resources section for more information.

Popsicles and beeswax,

Shannon and Kathryn