This Is It: My Big Announcement

At last, an online course in encaustic painting with Judy Wise!

 I hope you will join me in this online wax workshop as I share my knowledge of encaustic painting. This is not a beginning course although beginners will learn to take the first baby steps; I will teach
techniques that I have learned over a decade of experience as a gallery artist, facilitator and mentor. Most of the class instruction will be through daily videos so a high speed connection will be helpful. 

In addition to demos there will be projects presented that we can make together. You do not have to work in wax every day, just watch the videos and then decide which techniques appeal to you the most.
Some of you may choose to just watch the daily videos (taking notes) for later use in your work while others will choose to follow along with daily hands on activity.

Here is a rough outline of how I have structured the course:
I have held nothing back, there will be no Part 2.
This is the whole enchilada.

studio arrangement and equipment
keeping costs to a minimum
safety issues
tools
making wax medium
how to make our own color blocks to save money
substrates including paper and grounds
fusing
excavation
accretion
inclusion
scraping
smoothing the surface
transparency and opacity

silk

tissue and paper

photo collage techniques

transfers

stencil

stamping

masking

intarsia

intaglio

burning and branding

glazing and inking

surface texturing

ghostly layers

cavo-rilieveo

asphaltum

photos

shellac burn

shellac color burn

color mixing on the hot palette

portrait project

2nd portrait project

carbon project

putting it all together -

treating the paper substrate

gold foil

collage

making a sample board

layering up

painting over

spatial dynamic and composition

content vs technique

personal voice

The supply list is not daunting and I can show you easy solutions to ventilation and gathering the minimal equipment you will need to get started.

You can do many of the techniques with nothing more than a hot pot of wax, a few chip brushes from the hardware store,

a heat gun and things you already have around the art studio or garage.

I'm really busy that time of year. Are you going to overload me with work?

You will be the one to decide how much time you wish to devote to each day's lesson.

I am teaching you techniques that you will apply to your own paintings along with a few projects that we can

work on together to advance our experience with the medium.

This sounds really hard. Is it going to be over my head?

My goal in presenting this class is to offer something for both the beginning wax artist as well as the more advanced.

You may not use some of the techniques presented but you will have more knowledge to draw on at every level.

Is this going to ruin all my paint brushes?

(laughs) No, we'll use cheap dedicated brushes for the wax. But if you accidently grab the wrong brush I'll tell you how to get all the wax back out so you can use it again.

I'll even tell you how to get all the old gunked up acrylic out of your good brushes.

I work in my garage with only one window. Can you help me figure out the exhaust situation?

Yes, in the first video I'll cover that.

What if I fall behind? I've taken online classes before and I can never keep up.

I'm going to leave the videos and all the links up for 30 days after the class has officially ended. That will give you plenty of time to view

all the videos and work on the projects that interest you.

Will there be give aways? I love give aways.

(laughs again). Yes, I'll be giving away 2 original encaustics during the class through a random drawing.

Will this help me get my work in galleries?

Well, that depends on where your work is now. But certainly I can give you the perspective

of a juror and gallery participant. I will do everything I can to help you

move to the next level. I would love nothing more than to see each of us succeed in our goals.

What if I really cannot draw at all? Will encaustic be a medium that I can enjoy without drawing skills?

There are so many techniques that include photography, collage, sculptural effects, abstract design and outright lucky accidents

that I would say this is the one area where you dont need to know how to draw.

I think you will make beautiful work right away with this most forgiving medium.

Are you going to offer this material as a DVD or an eBook some day?

Right now I don't know how to do that but I am interested in doing either one or the other.

So to be honest with you I can tell you that much. If I do get the course made into one of these media in the future I can assure you

that the class members will have access to it at a reduced rate.

There will be a Yahoo group where we can post images and share discussions about our work.

I will make myself available for questions and support until the class ends however the site with all the videos will be up for you for an extra month.

This class is a culmination of my many years of wax study and experience and I am proud to present it to you.

I think it's going to be an awesome class. (big smile)

Once registered you will receive a confirmation response and full supply list with links within 48 hours. Please email me at judygirl7@gmail.com if you have not received it by then.

I am one person doing everything so please be patient. I am efficient but not infallible.

IMPORTANT: When you register for the class, PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK THE EMAIL ADDRESS THAT PAYPAL HAS ON FILE FOR YOU.

If it is not your correct or preferred email, please let me know right away.

First the Conference

Home late last night from the Conference in Massachusetts after a 6 hour flight from east coast to west coast. There are 200 emails sitting in my inbox. It's going to be in interesting week catching up. But I couldn't wait to share with you.

It's all about growth and change over here. The wide arc of learning the next thing. The teacher's love of gathering and sharing. Of seeing my knowledge grow and of embracing newer, better ideas and ways of doing things.

After spending the first night in Boston with my traveling friends Bill and Linda Womack and Kimberly Kent we boarded the ferry to Provincetown. It was 1 1/2 hours from Boston to P-Town on the ferry and I'm looking a little woozy in this photo that Kimberly took on her new iPad.

Oh the iPad love on this trip. Everyone had one but me. I intend to change that. eBooks, movies to download and watch in bed and on airplanes; where have I been?

My first lecture was on the critique conducted by Toby Sisson. We shared a lunch table. I am her big fan. She is now an even bigger hero to me. She said the things that I practice; the dialogue as opposed to the hierarchical structure in the classroom. Exchange as opposed to top down. How to grow through the art of critique. 

These individuals shared a panel on "Mastering Media" - the media of the internet for the most part but also getting our work noticed if that is the goal. Linda is our voice from the west coast.

One new product this year was water soluble encaustic. It sounds like an oxymoron.

I believe these fellows came from Italy and they demonstrated this medium which works a lot like alkyd paint. No fusing with heat. 

There was a beautiful juried show at the Kobalt Gallery in town and this was one of my favorite groupings in the show. Lots of texture and variety.

Gregory Wright's work. What a delightful artist he is. He demonstrated all kinds of textures to us. His paintings are wonderfully detailed in person and obviously colorful.

My room mate Kimberly and her work that not only made it into the juried show (yay Kimberly!) but also sold. The theme of the show was "Beeline" and the works selected were based on the them of bees and all that could pertain to the avian world.

This was Catherine Nash's piece that won an award. My photo only shows the boat but the piece was rather large extending on both sides of the photo. You must visit her site.

Kimberly and Jess Greene enjoying lunches in the sunshine outside the door of our room. Jess has a new enterprise called "Seeking Your Course" which you can read about at the link. Please support her.

Laura Moriarty's work based on rolled layers of wax. Looking like sliced geodes. She paints in layers and then says she "cartwheels" them off the substrate.

Bill and the lobster feed. Oh man, did we eat!

Tuna Delmonico. And a big piece too.

I liked this little clay doll even if it wasn't made of wax.

The scenery was spectacular. I got to take a water taxi back to Logan airport.

I'm hyper-stimulated from my 3 days of wax, the fabulous people who make the wax products (R&F, Enkaustikos!) and the teachers and artists who contribute to the culture of this country, often without salary or celebration. Civilization. Civil behavior. That stuff. 

Book suggestion: For The Time Being by Annie Dillard. It will drop you to your knees. 

Announcement tomorrow.

June, the Best Month

It's here at last, sweet beloved June. 

I'm leaving in the morning for the east coast, 6 hours away, to participate in the International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown, Massachusetts. This will be my 2nd time attending and I'm starting to get excited. I haven't started packing but I'm starting to get excited.

It is soggy and cool here, not summery at all. Everyone is grumbling about the weather. But not me. I'm glad it's not too hot.

The flowers sure aren't discouraged. Soaked but not discouraged.

I would post more photos but my feet were wet so I quit shooting.

I've been on a roller coaster of work and high energy that usually comes with summer.

I'm preparing a big surprise for you that I'll unveil on my return from the conference.

Something I thought was impossible until I tried it and found out it was possible after all.

I'm taking all kinds of new risks lately; pushing myself to the edge of the cliff. 

What have I got to lose? This is my one amazing life.

I'm reading Just Kids by Patti Smith. She is a brilliant writer. I am mesmerized by her story. 

The book will travel with me to the east coast.

Oh yeah. So my big announcement. 

Coming next week.

A bit of a stretch.

Because it's summer and I feel expansive.

And a huge thank you to everyone who has written with their congratulations on the book and the class. The best thing in the world you can do for your own happiness is to try and make someone else happy. It is brilliant the way that works. Everyone gets to shine.

Last night before yoga one of the other students said that a 114 year old man just passed who was the last remaining survivor of World War I. When asked his advice for a long life he had 2 suggestiions. He said to limit meals to twice a day and to embrace change. I've been thinking about that ever since. It sounds like excellent advice.