Honey bees

Have you thought about where your paint comes from lately? It takes 160,000 bees traveling 150,000 miles to collect enough pollen to produce 60 ponds of honey which translates into one pound of beeswax! But honey bees are in grave danger-2012 was a very bad year for them. Of course, paint concerns are minor when we compare that to the pollination of our food crops. So what is happening? Perhaps it is the new insecticide containing nicotine since the rise in its use mirrors the rise in the collapse of bee colonies.
There are no replacements for honey bees-something we should all think about and even speak up about. More to come.

Fall Workshops, new Work

my fall workshops at silvermine school of art-www.silvermineart.org

intro to encaustic painting-10/1 and 11/13, 10:00-3:00

encaustic transfers with photographs-10/15, 10:00-3:00

6 week class starting 10/5, 7:00-10:00 pm

encaustic weekend-12/3 & 4, 10:00-3:00

hope to see you there

new painting-corona-36" x 36" encaustic on panel and view as a triptych

Not Just for Kids

i thought it was worth a try-the Crayola Crayon Maker. designed for children to re-melt their left over crayon pieces into new crayons with custom colors- why not try it with encaustic paints and make encaustic crayons. following directions but using scraps of encaustic paint the Crayon Maker did melt the encaustics, then they are poured into 4 small crayon molds-let cool and there you go. i have yet to try adding any powdered pigments to the mix but that is next. there is probably a better method but the Crayon Maker only uses a 60 watt candelabra bulb for heat so it shouldn't use much electricity. if you wonder why i might want encaustic crayons just think encaustic monotypes. and remember, if you too try this at home, don't forget about ventilation.

Up coming workshops 2011

happy new year everyone. 2011 is the year of the rabbit-a quiet year when gentle persuasion is better than harsh force so i'll just say it would be great to see you at a workshop where everyone can work at their own pace with no pressure to create the masterpiece. although i have found that during my many years of teaching that even artists new to a medium often want to do just that. so relax, but not too much since in the year of the rabbit we can become too complacent while putting off what we need to do.

these are my workshops at silvermine arts center in new canaan, ct (www.silverminearts.org)through april-i also am available for private workshops in my studio. wishing you all the best, keep waxing, nash

introduction to encaustic painting-2/5 and 4/23

encaustic with collage-3/19

encaustic for photographers-4/2 (the image above combines photography with encaustic paint)

weekend workshop-2/12 and 13

6 week class starts 2/16

Visceral Structures

an encaustic and mixed-media artist Elizabeth Back's solo exhibition "Visceral Structures" is on view at the Silvermine Arts Center in New Canaan, CT. Back creates paintings, sculpture and installations that relate to nature and the body on varying scales. several paintings are round like huge petrie dishes that have some type of life form growing in them; others are very textural and also have a feeling of reproduction in progress. we get a close up view of things usually unseen. don't miss it but hurry-only up through 11/5.

10 Years Old

on my web site is a series called the genome project. they are 12" x 12" encaustic paintings on panel that use the letters of the genome-ATCG-and other imagery to reflect upon what makes us us -human.

this week the decoding (or mapping) of the complete human genome is celebrating its 10th anniversary. it is our DNA instruction book where only 1/2% difference in the code creates our uniqueness.

you might say "so what"? but very likely, within the next 3-4 years your map/book will be read for less than $1000.00 and within the next 10 years it will be a part of our medical records.

hopefully advances in predictions, prevention and cures will also grow at an even faster pace. it was also announced this week that a group of scientists think they have found the genes for longevity. how does being 100 years old sound? still creating art?

for further info check out Spencer Wells at the National Geographic Genome site.

Transfer Notes from 4th Annual Encaustic Conference

Here are some notes and observations on doing transfers based on my experience and seeing what other artists do. I use a lot of images and text that I transfer and want to do it as perfectly and quickly as I can-you may have found other ways but so far this is what I feel works best. Doing a transfer can seem like magic but by paying attention to a couple of details it is a straight forward process.

What is the difference between lazer and ink jet copies? Laser (toner) printers heat a powdery toner that is applied to the paper. An ink jet sprays ink dots and uses either heat (Canon, HP) or electricity (Epson) to set the ink.

What to transfer-

Photocopy, laser copy, toner copy in B & W or color, newspaper copy. Ink jets don’t work well but are not impossible.* but why bother? They are often not waterproof.Remember to “mirror” text so it will be right reading.

Graphite, color pencils, charcoal, pastel (not oil), carbon or Saral paper,metallic transfer tapes.

Color from magazine pages.

Lazertran ink jet paper-more of a combination of techniques as the image is actually collaged in.

How to: the basic technique

Note:there is no need to use any kind of solvent

Fused, smooth surface-the smoother the surface the more perfect the transfer will be. I like some or all medium on the surface that the transfer will be on-medium is more tacky. Medium will also prevent pigmented encaustic paint from seeping into the image when you fuse. This is especially true when using charcoal.

Warm the surface-between 80-110 degrees. The transfer is harder to do if the surface is too cool and you will just push into the wax if the surface is too warm. Feel it and/or use a digital thermometer.

Place the transfer face down. Rub with a metal tool-a burnisher works best. You need the hardness of the metal tool-it works much better that wood, bone, etc. This usually takes around a minute.

Spray with water and rub over the paper. It may need several applications of water. Let the water do the work! Then rub off the paper pulp-fingers, old towels, sanding blocks, kitchen scrubbies-all these work.

Even though it looks clean add a little more water and rub with you fingers to get that very fine layer of paper off. It is easiest to edit the image at this time , removing any parts of the transfer you don't want to keep.If it is a keeper, lightly fuse. Of course if you fuse too much you will move the image, sometimes you might do that on purpose for the effect.

Alternatives-

Cut the image out completely, put face down and cover with wax paper, then burnish.

Leave some of the paper pulp on or around the image which can add softness, some dimension.

To transfer a graphite, pencil or pastel drawing -no water.

Most artists don’t use heat for this but I prefer the surface to be just slightly warm.

The transfer will work best if the drawing is done on a non- absorbent paper.

Place face down on surface, burnish, lift up edge to check transfer, slowly pull off the paper.

Often you can do another softer transfer from the same image-a shadow.

lightly fuse.

*Ink jet printed on parchment paper will transfer easily.

Color magazine images-with water

Not all magazine pages will transfer-you need those that are printed on a clay based paper. Use same basic technique although when doing a large page I like to use a flat metal tool to get more coverage. If you hear or see air bubbles your paper is not attached to the surface and will not transfer.

Experiment, push the boundaries, take risks-that’s what art is all about.