Week of August 3
Beautiful by LVHDesigns
Announcements:
1. Marketing your art in a tough economy:
What networking and marketing tools do you use to promote your artwork? Flickr, Twitter, Facebook? How do you get your work out there and sold in a tough economy? Have you ever wondered if having a Ning account will help you at all? (or don’t have a clue what that is?)
If you have questions and thoughts for us on this topic, we want to hear from you! You can respond directly to this email, or join us in our team forum here. We’ll put together a series of helpful podcasts on building up a web presence / marketing tips based on what you said + things we have found to be helpful. Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you!
2. Object Challenge results:
Be on the lookout for a post soon about the BEE team’s summer Object Challenge results! Thanks again to all who participated!
Week of July 27
Bella Bird by SoulArteEclectica
Announcements:
1. Marketing your art in a tough economy:
With many of us trying to make ends meet in a struggling economy, we’d like to put together a series of helpful podcasts on building up a web presence / marketing tips. We have opened up the forum for discussion on things like social networking sites, Flickr, Twitter, etc. We will compile any notes, questions and suggestions from you all (along with what we find), and put together a podcast series set to launch in about 3 weeks. Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you in our team forum here.
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!
One A Day Project
Letter from the Desert, by Veronique Latimer (as part of the One A Day project)
Annoucements:
1. Forums and podcasts on web presence:
We’ve been getting some great discussion in the forum about if having a portfolio site is helpful….. we’re hoping to do a podcast series very soon on marketing yourself as an artist by building up an online presence. If you haven’t joined the conversation, you can join us our team forum here. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you’d like us to report on in our podcasts (specifically, on web / techie stuff), let us know. We’d love to get feedback so we can make this upcoming podcast series relevant and helpful to all our lovely BEEs!
2. Summer Object Challenge update:
If you had signed up to participate in our summer object challenge, please be sure to finish your pieces (and include a photograph and mini description) to Kathryn (via email – barnes.kathryn@gmail.com) asap. We’d like to compile the challenge results soon. Thanks and we hope you have had fun with the challenge!
3. One A Day project update:
A few of our team members have taken up the challenge to create one piece of art a day for at least two weeks! Veronique Latimer (as seen above) among others has taken up the challenge! Please be sure to check out members Kari Young and Melissa Hronkin’s blogs to see their one-a-day works as well. It’s exciting to see how these artists have pushed themselves over the summer!
Reporting from the Third Annual Encaustic Painting Conference – Tips on Packing Work
Hi again, busy bees!
I am here again to report back to you some helpful tips I picked up at the Third Annual Encaustic Painting Conference this June. Our first post was on keeping work archival by only introducing color-fast materials in the work. In this post, I will be sharing some information we received on safely packing and shipping encaustic works.
The first full day of the conference opened with a panel on conservation, Conservators in Conversation. The panel featured Pamela Hatchfield, Mimi Leveque, Kate Smith, and Carolyn Tomkiewicz. After an enlightening talk on the preserving of ancient wax works, they opened the floor for Q&A, which focused primarily on how to conserve our own work, particularly when shipping. We were told that if at all possible, nothing should ever touch the surface of any painting. This can be difficult for your every day artist (especially when shipping on a budget), so here I present some of the practical packing tips that came out of this conversation:
- Do not pack paintings with glassine; it turns to sandpaper with humidity, which is obviously bad for wax surfaces!
- Cardboard (acid-free), polyethylene, and polypropylene are safe packing materials.
- Corrugated plastic sheets (coroplast, for example) is also a good packaging material.
- Create a slip layer between your work and the packing materials using plastic shopping bags. When the pieces shift, the two layers of plastic bag move against each other instead of your piece against say, cardboard.
For more information on conservation, check out the American Institute for Conversation of Historic and Artist Works.
What packing and shipping tricks have you found work for you?
Week of July 13
Annoucements:
1. New co-leader and upcoming podcast!
Our team continues to grow and get more involved, so we asked Melissa Hronkin to join us as a third co-leader! Melissa Hronkin will have a lot to contribute to the team from both a beekeeper’s and an encaustic artist’s perspective. She’ll be writing interesting articles (look for a new section called THE BEE’S KNEES), and will be in charge of our annual February fundraiser “For the Love of the Bee.” To get to know Melissa more, you can check out a previous podcast, a skill share on beekeeping, her etsy shop or her blog! Melissa also did a presentation at the June Encaustic Conference, and we’ll be sharing that with you (via Buzz Podcast) later this week. Thanks everyone – and welcome aboard, Melissa! :)
2. Forums:
There’s a growing forum on our team page, so in an effort to consolidate, look for us on our team forum, rather than the etsy forum. You can still find us in etsy forums here (search for “beeswaxteam” in the to find us) but our focus will be on staying connected via our team forum here. We’re continuing the discussion this week on the question “Do you have a portfolio site? If so, is it helpful in terms of marketing?” We’d love to hear your thoughts!
3. One A Day project update
Although not everyone has been able to begin the project yet, 2 of our members have – with beautiful results! Please be sure to check out members Kari Young and Melissa Hronkin’s blogs to see their one-a-day works. Beautiful stuff Kari and Melissa!
Summer heat and melted beeswax,
Reporting from the Third Annual Encaustic Painting Conference – Tips on Keeping Work Archival
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
Island Girl by Bumblebellydesigns
Annoucements
1. Conference video: If you haven’t had a chance to see our conference video (created especially for the BEE team!), you’ll find it on the front page of our site, or by clicking here. This will give you a good glimpse into what the Third Annual Encaustic Conference was like. We hope you enjoy it!
2. Object Challenge: For those of you participating, if you haven’t sent off your item, please do so ASAP! We’re looking forward to seeing the results of the Object Challenge in the next few weeks. If you have any questions about the Object Challenge, feel free to email them to info@beeswaxteam.com (subject line: Object Challenge).
3. One A Day project: There’s still a week left to join us for the One A Day project (where we create a piece of art once a day for a minimum of 2 weeks, then blog about it each day) We are aiming to begin June 29th, but welcome anyone to join us as soon as possible! Email info@beeswaxteam.com (subject line: One a Day project) for more information.
4. Team Forum: New questions and discussion threads are going in the Team Forum. If you haven’t begun contributing, we’d love for you to jump in and give us your insight! This week’s poll question is for encaustic artists: Which heating tool do you prefer and why?
5. Twitterific: If you have a Twitter account, but have not yet begun to follow the BeesWaxTeam updates, be sure to follow us for up-to-date information and links. There’s a growing number of encaustic artists on Twitter, so if you work with encaustics, join the Twitter fun!
Thanks and happy waxing!
Third Annual Encaustic Conference Video
This will give you a quick glimpse into what the conference was like. It was a blast meeting several BEE members in person and learning a TON about encaustics and all things wax! :)
Enjoy,
back in action!
Idyllic 50 by Carrie Goller
Annoucements:
1. Team requirements: Requirements have begun to be implemented. Thanks for everyone who has begun to participate! We understand that this team is not for everyone, so we appreciate all the farewells and well-wishes from those that are no longer part of the team. And just so you know, you can feel free to join (or cancel) at any time! For information on our team requirements, please see the About section of the team site.
2. About us: we’ve updated our About section on our team website. Included now is a list of FAQ’s and where to email your questions, ideas and concerns. If we have missed anything that may be of importance on the FAQ’s, please let us know. Thanks!
3. New Call for Encaustic Art: In the Resources section, you’ll find an additional call for encaustic art submissions. The gallery is located in Chicago, IL, called WomanMade Gallery. We hope you will find our list of current calls for submissions helpful as you continue to get your work out there!
4. Podcasts re-launched this week: Be on the lookout for our podcast series to start up again. For June and July, the podcasts will focus on the Montserrat Encaustic Conference that just took place. Lots of pictures, articles and interesting relevant information on encaustic painting and all things related to bees and wax!
5. Summer Object Challenge: is in full swing! For those of you that have signed up to participate, Kathryn has contacted you via email to give you the name and information of your partner. Be creative and send the objects ASAP so everyone has plenty of time to create! We’re looking forward to seeing everyone’s pieces when the challenge is finished! :)
6. One A Day project: If you are interested in doing the One-A-Day project alongside of Shannon and a few other BEE team members, please feel free to jump in. We are aiming to begin late June, but welcome anyone to join us as soon as possible! Email info@beeswaxteam.com (subject line: one a day project) for more information.
June 1-14
Frozen Charlotte by Melissa Hronkin
- Team tag of “beeswaxteam” must be on all items that are encaustic, or have anything to do with beeswax in your etsy shop.
- Team blurb must be in shop announcement. Feel free to change the wording, but team website must be mentioned. “Proud member of the BEE team. For more about our team visit www.beeswaxteam.com or search for our team tag – beeswaxteam”
- Annual member fee of $10 must be paid. Each year, you’ll receive friendly reminders about the fee. For more information about the member fee, please see the Q & A’s.
- Sign up to participate in the team forum. To do this, go to the “forum” section of our team website and sign up for a username and password. This is a great feature for us to begin using to connect with each other. We highly recommend after you have signed up, to begin posting and replying to the threads!
3) There are new calls for encaustic art! Please see the RESOURCE section for a complete, up-to-date listing! Looking for ways to be challenged and inspired this summer? There are plenty of things to do and BEE a part of! 
4) The Montserrat Encaustic Conference is NEXT WEEK! For any BEEs attending, we will be meeting on Sunday, during the 4-5 pm slot.
Since both of us will be at the conference, we will not be posting or sending out a weekly newsletter June 8-14. This will give us time to compile our conference notes, pictures and implement the new team requirements. Thanks for your understanding!
5) For those of you on Twitter, please make the switchover – BEE team news and related encaustic info will now be posted by twitter name: BeesWaxTeam (no longer under Shannon Newby / Newbyart). Thanks!
