IEA Meeting and Demo

Last night we met at the studio of Andrea Benson and had a wonderful demo of how she builds up her dimensional figures in wax. Notice the clever clips she attaches to her tins of color so that she can lift up the cans and move them. Gotta get some. And the trim sealing iron - a new goody she got online that allows you to melt a line of wax directly on the substrate much as you would with a tjanting tool only letting you use hardened wax instead of melting it first.

Here is the new tool. I have a tacking iron and think I can do the same with that. It was a revelation to me to see the process in action.

We had a discussion of the fragility of frozen wax so Andrea froze a waxed board so we could do a drop test on it. We'd all heard a horror story of a shipment of encaustics that sat outside a gallery overnight and how all the wax had frozen and fallen off the boards. So Andrea dropped the waxed board 3 times in a very abusive manner.

Et viola! Only surface chipping on the corners where the board landed on the cement. Really, your work would never be subjected to this kind of abuse. We all felt better about the durability of our work after that demonstration.

Sorry, guys, candid camera - but I thought the walls of Andrea's studio were nice and you can see a few pieces of her work hanging. She is a huge inspiration to me and she teaches too so if you want to learn how she does her marvelous work you can contact her through her website and set up a date for a workshop in her studio. She even does individual tutoring.

Student Work in Encaustic

I just have to share the work these kids are doing with someone. Their inventiveness amazes me; they jump in and work, they love the wax and pigment. The work they are producing is wildly successful.

To really appreciate the rich detail of the textures you have to make the images larger. The secret ingredient in the one above is apple cider powder and 2 coats of amber shellac mixed with black pigment over green and red wax, fusing after each layer. Shazam!!

The board above has a tea bag on the left side dunked into colored wax or waxed with color after (I'm not sure). Two of the students have set up a home studio already and did this piece there.

I like the 2-D effect of the thick wax on the flags in the piece above.

I wish I knew the names so I could give credit where credit is due. Lots of different techniques on display.

Cut and fill wax technique above. Great spatial depth and contrasting textures.

Tiles and colored wax in the grid above.

Tissue paper, colored wax, bronze or copper pigment, drawn images in ink.

Detail of a large piece showing amber shellac, texture achieved with sprayed water and heat, melted wax, pigment and the ground burned completely through.

Did I mention that these kids can draw? No? Well, these kids can draw. What an experience for me this has been. I just circle the room and watch what they come up with; fresh ideas, brilliant approaches, original solutions. I'm inspired.

Stream of Consciousness Journaling

Doodled this page while listening to Obama's speech this morning on racism in the USA. Had watched a wonderful video the night before on Betty LaDuke's work with Heifer.org to help supply cattle to the impoverished people in Africa. Her work was so inspiring to me; how artists can use their influence to help others who profoundly need it. The beautiful healthy faces of the children who just want to eat. The mother's look of relief that her child has a meal. We're just people here. Some of us nice, some of us dreadful, independant of race or religion. It's simple, isn't it? Why are some of us so afraid?

The 3-D Kids

Friday I worked with the students in the clay studio. I wanted to give them a grounding in mixing pigment with wax on the hot palette as I did the other groups. For me, this is the foundation for working in encaustic - to be able to achieve the colors you want instead of trying to control the highly saturated colors that you purchase pre-mixed.

I think once you work with your own color mixes it is easier to switch to the commercially prepared colors and to use them judiciously; in other words, lots of clear wax and small amounts of the brilliant color.

After the portraits, I introduced the fun stuff that everyone can't wait to try. Collage, intaglio, cut and fill, transfers, scraping, using clay tools and dentists' tools, all that fun experimenting with photographs and found images.

It was a week that left me feeling changed and strengthened. It was really great watching the successes and course-corrections that come with any new skill.

Overheard conversation:
Boy 1 - "I love it" (my painting).
Boy 2 - "Yeah, like a mother loves her baby" . (implying a face only a mother could love)
Boy 1 - "Yeah. Me and the teacher; we're the only ones who love it."

It was so obvious that the kids were proud and knew they'd made something beautiful. They were so excited about the process, the whooshing torches, the fragrant wax and esoteric history of the medium. All the same things that I love come to think of it.

One more week with the kids. Journal pages coming as soon as I catch my breath.

Quickie Post

I have newfound respect for you who do art after a day at a 'real' job. I've never been more tired at the end of the day, even after a nap. Where is the time for the journal, the painting, the self-focused indulgence and daydreaming? I eked this out this afternoon through a haze of exhaustion. Yes, every little bit of paint and glue helps me feel grounded. If you have managed to go to a job and do any art at all you are my heros and bless your fortitude. I think the government should fund artists like they did in the 30's. Imagine the blossoming of beauty and mental health. Ahhh .......

High School Adventure Pt. 2

We're back at Lakeridge High with Group 2 of the students that are learning encaustic. There will be 3 groups, just so you know. These guys only had about 20 minutes to complete their paintings. In addition, they shared brushes and torches just like the first group. But they were much more rushed. Not that the portraits suffered one bit. I believe sometimes it is good to have the wolves snapping at your tail; you don't have time to overthink what you are doing.

You see, we know how to do it. Every one of us knows how to do it. We just have to get out of our own way and let ourselves proceed.

Are you gasping in amazement yet? Gosh, I think these kids are awesome.

Imagine the distractions. Like me walking around the room saying "5 minutes! Pick up that burnt sienna and get those mouths drawn on."

And then the little things that invariably slow us down; spilled pigment, a torch that won't light (oops, turning the knob in the wrong direction) - these guys never touched torches before Monday. So they're trying to pick up everything at once.

Of course they are teenagers. Dont even try to think as fast as they do. They sponged up the directions and listened attentively.

There is so much life in these faces; such tender expression. I'll bet they wonder themselves how they pulled off such mature paintings.

This is every single one; I was diligent about leaving no one's work out.

There is nothing in the world more thrilling to me than watching someone 'get it'. We are all creators. We can make awesome things and paint pictures that astonish ourselves. That's pretty cool.

My High School Adventure

Working with these kids is a huge privilege. At the end of each session I am dumbfounded at their sweet willingness to sign on for anything; they are the bravest, happiest art-makers around. I remember the confidence and joy I felt at that age too before art-school-doubts set in. And the work these kids produce reflects their joie de vivre . You'll see.

We're at Lakeridge High School and for two weeks several art classes are working with me on an encaustic intensive in the artist-in-the-schools program. It requires me to get out of bed earlier than usual but it has been a worthwhile adventure; working with the teacher and her students has been great. I'll be showing you more of their work as the weeks progress.

These are the portraits from day 1 of painting with wax and dry pigment on the hot palette. If you've tried it you know it is a challenge; that first time firing up the torch is rather breath taking.

But look closely at the portraits they created using only 4 colors (ochre, burnt sienna, titanium white and black). I was frankly amazed.

I dont know how closely you can examine these but they are very moving in person. It was wonderful to watch what came out of the class.

I shot the individual paintings quickly at the end of class so didn't get many of them and wasn't picking out my favorites; this is just a random sampling. Pretty amazing, huh?

Gosh, I can't help beaming with happiness as I look at this work. The last one, "Cadaver Cove" is a poster for a movie one of the kids is making. Uh, yeah. These guys are pretty amazing.

Not a small class either. Today I think we had 28 and yesterday 48 in the class. So we have been painting in wax - pretty wonderful stuff. You are looking at the people who will be showing their work in galleries in the next few years. They are bound for art schools all across the country; futures bright.

Last night when I came home from teaching I was so tired that tears sprung to my eyes as I opened this Birthday-Pisces gift from Ro. Life is so full and so good right now. I just try to take huge bites of everything because I want to do so much in my time here. My heart is full to bursting with love and appreciation for the kindness others show me. Maybe some day I'll talk about worse times in my life or again I may not. Maybe I'll just say that I'm glad I made it through those times to finally arrive at a place where the world looks so beautiful.

Journey to the Center

The Grant Writing Workshop with Gigi Rosenberg was wonderful in ways I could not have anticipated. Aside from learning about the grant writing process itself and hearing that the odds of getting a grant are encouraging, there is the mapping of goals that clarifies who we are and what we hope to accomplish as artists. Gigi led us through a series of exercises that were designed to help us get in touch with our own work. Part of the process involves understanding where we are in the trajectory of our careers and writing out a very detailed personal mission statement. Just the process of writing out a mission statement is of great value to anyone who wishes to focus on the next step in their artistic journey. And there is always a next step.

One exercise we did as a group was a timed writing on a work of poetry or a photograph she passed out. The exercise was revelatory for me.

I came home very stimulated and had a vivid dream in the night which I woke up and painted today. The first image shows the bright underpainting on plaster. I liked the transparent washes with brush strokes that looked so much like my reverse paintings used to look but I wanted something darker and nuanced so I kept going.

For the last year I've been working on a body of work that included blind swimmers, women seeking internal guidance, connecting with our intuition, etc. Along this line, my dream was of a woman in a blindfold carefully navigating through the dark. I wanted an element of psychological tension.

This is the finished piece. It holds a powerful message that I now understand. It has to do with my search and the fact that I am not finished. My spirit in a state of darkness about all that is unknown to me and how I advance none the less in trust and alertness hoping that the answer will be revealed in time. I am searching and advancing and I feel like that figure with the blindfold. And that is all I know at this time. I don't have the answer. I only know how it feels to be in a state of not knowing.

Lovely, Lazy Mood

This is my day to do nothing or anything I want. No guilt. So what do I love doing on my one, special day? I love showing and telling. Here is my latest journal page above with a new stencil I cut of my sister Sandi. The version I like best is the negative orange one that I got by rubbing the wet stencil on a piece of white paper. I like all the accidental blips and blotches.

I went to Leighanna Light's workshop on Sunday with a half-dozen delightful women at Innerstandings Studio. I'm not really an assemblage girl; have a few doo-dads in drawers but have never quite known what to do with them. Leighanna has changed all that for me. Oh, dear, more junk. Now I'll be bent over picking up rusty things too like most of the artists I know. Gosh we had a great time.

I sat next to Nicole who I met in one of Katie's classes last year. I love getting to know more artists from our area.

And Dayna took my journaling class in December; she came up from Salem with her friend Vicki.

This is my gooey gel-y project drying under a light bulb during lunch. I didn't have a clue what I was doing so I just glued stuff on with a little faith that it might come together in time.

Vicki came to the class from Astoria. I didn't take nearly as many photos as usual so I missed a few classmates but we all laughed and had a great time and Leighanna is a terrific, relaxed and reassuring teacher and a funny, interesting woman as well. Who else dreams of Osama b-L as another one of her 'loser' boyfriends? That cracked me up!

After the workshop I tooled over to my daughter's house for a family dinner and Birthday celebration. Every moment of the evening was sublime. My treasured, beloved children and their families and my gorgeous grandson. Oh, the love and fullness.

Sky gave me the ultimate Skelly - I can just see him doing the shuffle off to Buffalo. Thank you my friends for the Birthday wishes and for stopping by. In my next post I'll show you how my canvases from Leighanna's class turned out.