Tinkering

In other news, I sent off these pieces (necklace, bracelet, and brooch) of jewelry to the show Chroma in Manteo, NC yesterday. The show will be in the College of the Albemarle Gallery from March 5 to April 3.  I enjoy working in two totally different ways, paint and metal.   With the metal, I use found metal, often lithographed tin from vintage cans and such, and this work becomes whimsical in nature.  

Encaustic Triptych Progress

More collage is applied.  Too bad....new architectural plans are printed on less desirable paper now, and so the wax does not permeate these plans as I'd hoped.  I have some old blueprints that I may turn to.  Fusing with a heat gun is necessary as new elements are added.  This ensures that the wax, paint and paper become solidified together.  More later. 

Collage

I add paint to some of the sections, white and brown, and begin adding collage elements.  I choose from a hoard of old papers and books (yes, I collect) - I look for papers that are soft surfaced, usually easiest found in older papers.  I am attracted to marks, the linear marks found on maps, handwritten ledgers and schematic drawings such as blueprints.  Collage papers are applied with the clear encaustic medium, which acts as an adherent because it is able to permeate the paper and become fused to the waxy surface.  

An Unexpected Development

What's the unexpected development?  Writing a blog!  I'm not a writer, but I do see a benefit to putting down the process of my work in the studio. I am primarily a painter and encaustic is my usual choice of media, frequently with additional media mixed in.  I also make work with metal; I'll share some of that here also.  My art making practice is  intuitive - I start with a general idea, however I allow the work itself to speak to me, leading me down new paths.  This blog is a great example of a new path I felt I needed to follow.  Let's see where it goes.

 I'm working on a commissioned triptych and taking process shots as the piece develops.  The work is encaustic mixed media and the three panels each measure 30 x 48 inches. This work will hang on a beautiful, tall stone fireplace in a home near Grandfather Mountain.  The hardest part of most projects is getting started sometimes - once I begin the piece seems to roll forward - guiding me. First job; paint the edges with oil paint, and lay down several layers of fused encaustic to form a bed.