Painting Pain

The studio is almost done and i have been doing a lot of painting (not the kind i prefer to do) so that at least for a short time everything is white on white but it is killing my hands. those of you with carpal tunnel know the feeling. my workshops will be starting on oct. 4-the listing is on the silvermine guild web site. information is also now available for the third annual encaustic conference to be held the first week of june in beverly ma and there are benefits to signing up early. and keep an eye out for the prospectus for the R&F juried show which will be exhibited in 2009 at the castle gallery in new rochelle, ny.

Light

 i am learning so much about all the different aspects of light but for sure, the light in my studio is now so much better. many of my artist friends are telling me that my work should now be getting bigger and better-at least the better is always a goal. the crew who has been working here is just great and has made the process much more sane. somehow there are still so many more decisions to be made than one would think possible.

Making Progress

things are moving along. i even taught a private workshop in my garage studio! thank you kari for being adventurous, interesting, fun and creative. 

Progress report

well here's what my studio now looks like. what a mess. and here's my new working space in my garage. it is taking me a while to get adjusted but i am very fortunate to have a studio of my own and one at home. artists like to see other studios-if you have any shots send them along. 

Summer Projects

Besides the usual fun  summer activities i am cleaning out my studio so renovation can start this monday. what a project! how do we artists accumulate so many tools, materials, and maybes? i've had some maybes for ten years. you know- maybe i will use this for...... the project is estimated to take a month but hopefully it won't be that long. meanwhile i am going to work in my garage on some large paintings and when possible use the sun to fuse them. and throw out some of those maybes.

my other project has just been completed-my website is finally up! special thanks to miggs, roger, jennifer, tertuliano and gail. if you'd like to see more of my work and a look at my "before" studio just go to my site-www.nashhyon.com

Do you know Chihuly?

in college my main interest was in jewelry design but i also had the opportunity to try glass blowing. talk about process. i was just thinking about this as i viewed the Dale Chilhuly four dvd set which if you haven't seen-you should-especially the one filmed in Venice. why should an encaustic painter be interested in Chilhuly? he's a master artist (kind of the mario batali of glass) that has gone beyond the difficulties of the process and his own physical limitations to pure creation. in Venice he works with two very different master glass blowers to create the most amazing work. the process of blowing glass is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult to master in part because of the heat, the weight of the glass and the speed needed while working. there are similarities between glass and wax-they both become liquid with heat, solid when cool, the way they capture light, how translucent, how transformative. Chihuly has a lot to say about the creative process that applies to all artists. he often tells his students "...you are making something no one has ever seen before". what are you making?

Second National Encaustic Painting Conference

despite the weather attempting to melt us & our wax, the conference held this past weekend in Beverly, MA was experienced & enjoyed by over 200 participants. bravo, Joanne. & if you missed this one, next years is already planned for the same weekend in june. my advice-sign up early to make sure you get the talks/demos that you're most interested in. this year we also had Linda Womack do a  signing of her just published "embracing encaustic" book which i will write about as soon as i get time to read it (we need more books on this historic medium that is being used more & more by contemporary artists). many of the demos were taped & i will pass along that info when available. i hope that those who attended my demo-warp, weft & wax are inspired to try some of the techniques i showed & as always, comments, questions or additions are welcome.