Spring 2011

For More Information about the Encaustic Art

Institute:
Website: http://www.eainm.com
Blog: http://www.eainm.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Encaustic-Art-Institute/332917031347

Founder:
Douglas Mehrens at mehrens@eainm.com

Encaustic Art Institute Administration:

* Douglas Mehrens, Founder/CEO

Board of Directors:
* Glenn Fellows
* Michael Allison
* Perry Lovelace
* Douglas Mehrens

Artist Board:
* Russell Thurston, Program Director
* Kari Gorden, Membership Director
*Kate Palmo, Education Director
*Linda Fillhardt, Blog Coordinator
* Perry Lovelace, Marketing Director
* Barbara Gagel, Fund Raiser Coordinator
* Teena Robinson, Graphics & Computer Support
* Michael Phillip Pearce, Carbon Vudu
LLC, Magazine Art Director.

Cover and logo design by Nanette Newbry, Studio

2055, cover art by Francisco Benitez, Epithimia,
18X24.

The Encaustic Art Magazine is published by The

Encaustic Art Institute, 18 County Road 55a,
(General Goodwill Road) Cerrillos, NM 87010-9779

Encaustic: Greek word meaning to heat or burn in (enkaustikos).

2011 OWNERSHIP OF DESIGN this information prepared by Encaustic Art Institute shall remain the property thereto, and
shall retain all common law, statutory and other reserved rights, including the copyright thereto.
 4
EAI From the Institute

5
EAI Calendar of Events

Cover story
6 Francisco Benitez

13 Harmony

Portfolio
14 Nancy Natale

Spotlight
17 Eileen Goldenberg

Portfolio
18 Howard Hersch

21 Upcoming Conferences

Portfolio
22 Kim Bernard

1.Techne, or techn, the

Greek word techn is often
Spotlight
25 Stephanie Huerta

26
translated as craftsmanship,
craft, or art. It is the
rational method involved Portfolio Paula Roland
in producing an object or
accomplishing a goal or

30
objective. Techne resembles
the implication of knowledge
of principles, although
Techne` Encaustic + Paper: A Sample
techne differs in that its Book
intent is making or doing, as
opposed to disinterested
understanding.
 Dear Readers,

Welcome, I am proud to announce the kick-off of our first on-line

by-yearly Encaustic Magazine, the Spring Issue. In this issue you will see
we have a featured cover artist, Francisco Benitez, a veteran encaustic
artist who lives, creates and teaches in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is
one of the workshop instructors at The Encaustic Art Institute in Santa
Fe. In addition, Francisco gives us a fascinating and thorough scholarly
history of encaustic art, and shares more examples of his extraordinary
portrait art.

Inside this issue you will find Close-ups of four accomplished artists
who work with encaustic. Kim Bernard is a founding member of New
England Wax who works in North Berwick, ME. She shares her explo-
ration of movement through a question and answer interview. Howard
Doug Mehrens Hersh is an artist who lives and works in San Francisco. He shares how
after 25 years of creating artwork, he approaches his art practice. Paula Roland is a well known teacher and
artist from Santa Fe, NM. She is an award-winning artist known for popularizing the process of monotypes.
Through interviewing, we learn about her themes of work past, present and future. Nancy Natale lives and
works in western Massachusetts. She shares her particular process in developing her series of mixed medium
work called Running Stitch. Each of these featured artists brings something new to encaustic work and to
the encaustic movement.

Elsewhere in this first issue of Encaustic Arts, you can get technique tips from the artists at Wax Works West,
a school for the encaustic arts outside Santa Cruz, CA, and learn about their ingenious encaustic sample
books. You can also learn about the buzzzzz in an article about bees wax.

I began the The Encaustic Art Institute, a non-profit organization, three years ago with the intention to
From the Institute

expand and expound on the medium of wax. We now have over 100 members from all over the country, with
every stripe of artist using wax exclusively or assimilating it with their own mediums. Our gallery holds one
of the largest and most diverse examples of encaustic art in the country. We also just added 3 bee hives to our
Institute to create a little more buzzzzz.

Just as The Encaustic Art Institute is YOUR Institute, we want Encaustic Arts magazine to be YOUR magazine.
This magazine is for all artists who work with encaustic wax and for those who wish to start with this magical
medium. The resurgence of interest in this ancient medium has been gaining momentum quickly, and is
becoming an international phenomenon. Encaustic organizations are springing up all over the country. Art
collectors both large and small are taking notice of the medium and the diverse ways it is lending itself to
both traditional and contemporary expression. We hope you join us in being a part of the movement. Send
us your suggestions for features and other content. Do you have a favorite tool, or a special technique youve
discovered or developed from working with encaustic? Maybe you have news about the artists who work in
encaustic in your area? We want to hear about it.

We hope you enjoy Encaustic Arts. Meanwhile, keep on waxing!

Douglas Mehrens
Founder and CEO
Encaustic Art Institute
4Spring

www.EAINM.com
2011

June October
1 through September 1 1
Habitat for Humanity and EAI present the Harmony Art Panel Habitat for Humanity and EAI presents the
at The Encaustic Art Institute Gallery. Open weekends 1-6 pm Harmony Community Project, a fund-raising Auction
held at Creative Albuquerque 115 4th Street NW 87102
26 Open from 6 pm to 9 pm
Members Program: 2:30 EAI Gallery
8
July OPENING: National Encaustic Invitational: (juried)
15-17 Linda Durham, juror. Call for art goes out June 1, 2011
Photo Encaustic Workshop : Michael David EAI Gallery Cerrillos, NM 1-6 PM (8-30 Show)
Artists Board: 1:00 EAI Gallery
17 Members Program: 2:30 EAI Gallery
Artists Board Meeting 1:00 EAI Gallery
Members Program 2:30 EAI Gallery 15-16
Beginning Encaustic Workshop: Harriette Tsosie
29
Hot Wax/Cool Art Workshop : Margaret Berry November
5
30 OPENING: Miniatures
Blazing the Wax Trail New Tools/Techniques Workshop: EAI Gallery Cerrillos, NM 1-6 PM
Margaret Berry

Calendar of Events
11-13
August Encaustic & Paper Workshop: Wendy Aiken, Judy Stabile,
6 Daniella Woolf
OPENING: Mining the Unconscious (collaboration with Red
Book project) EAI Gallery Cerrillos, NM 1-6 PM (6-28 show) 18-20
Encaustic with/Textile Sensibility Workshop : Daniella Woolf
19-21
Waxed Paper Workshop : Michelle Belto 27
Artists Board: 1:00 EAI Gallery
28 Members program: 2:30 EAI Gallery
Members Program 2:30 EAI Gallery
December
September 11
11 Christmas Party
Remembering 9/11 (one day memorial event)

17
3rd Annual EAI Fundraising Gala and Auction
EAI Gallery Cerrillos, NM 5-8 PM
5
Spring

www.EAINM.com
 FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE
PAST TO THE URGENCY OF
THE PRESENT:
ENCAUSTIC AS A MEDIUM
FOR ALL AGES
By Francisco Benitez

There is no doubt that encaustic has become one

Francisco Benitez

of the hottest painting mediums to appear on the art

scene in the last twenty years. For a good part of the
twentieth century, when new mediums, materials,
and pigments were appearing on the market
such as acrylic, a plethora of new pigments and
mediums, and new supports--encaustic painting Francisco Benitez, Lucrezia, 30X30
was resigned to a somewhat marginal status.
Despite interest in the medium by certain American record of the history of ancient painting is Pliny, a
and European painters working in isolation, such as Roman scholar and encyclopedist from the first
David Aronson, who were active in the 1930s and century AD, who wrote the Natural History. In Book
1940s, encaustic did not hit stardom until Jasper 35, Pliny explains, although in less than scientific
Johns began to use it for many of his Target fashion, the beginnings and development of Greek
and Flag series and Roman painting.
paintings in Whether the Egyptians gave the knowledge
the 1950s and to the Greeks, or they developed it on their own, one
1960s. Johns thing is certain, the Greeks saw the use of applying
himself admitted beeswax mixed with pitch to the wood of ships.
that he used Wax is an extremely resistant material, especially
encaustic in a very to the ravages of humidity and microbes. That is a
basic and simple good reason why so many of the Fayum portraits
way, but even he are in splendid condition. With pigment, a resin,
did not realize the and beeswax, artists began decorating ships with
Jasper Johns floodgates he was vivid colors and frightening attributes such as the
Featured Artist

about to open. gigantic eyes we recognize in triremes, which were

How encaustic had humble beginnings in
Ancient Greece as a paint for seafaring ships, to
advance to the status of being one of the most
highly-prized painting media in the golden age of
the late Classical and Hellenistic periods, to then
slowly fade away from artistic practice in the late
medieval period, only to be reborn out the ashes in
the twentieth century, is a compelling tale.
Encaustic, although not the oldest medium
in historythat prize goes to fresco painting is a
member of a small elite of primal painting media
from the dawn of civilization. Although a written
history can be traced to the Greeks, we know that
beeswax has been a part of us as long as we have
been around. It is known that some form of encaustic
was used in
Ancient Egypt,
and it is not
impossible that in
fact the Egyptians
may have given
6
meant to instill fear in the enemy.
This form of painting seemed to be very
durable, and before long we see it being incorpo-
rated into the greater Greek tradition of wall and
panel painting. One of the first artists mentioned by
Pliny to use encaustic was Polygnotos (flourished
around 475-450 BC), who was an artist who was
crucial at making the break with the hieratic and
schematic Archaic style, and pointing the way for a
more optical and scientific approach to visualizing
nature. There is a striking parallel with oil painting
nearly 2,000 years later--as it became the painting
medium par excellence in the Renaissance and
Baroque because of an overwhelming impulse
to represent nature and optical reality. Encaustic,
because of its inherent optical qualities, was seen
as a better medium to represent the complex-
ity of the human form and nature than the flatter,
water-based media such as tempera and fresco.
Polygnotos was still an artist who was a product of
his period, and although he moved painting in the

the knowledge direction of this new opticalityhis major contribu-

to the Greeks. tions were the development of complex draperies,
In any case, facial expressions, and psychologyif one were to
Spring

our best written see his work today, it would remind one of Greek
Minoan Fresco, National
Archaeological Museum, Athens,
c1500 BC

www.EAINM.com
vase painting in its outlined forms, flat areas of
color, and schematic approach to space. Despite
this, Polygnotos was an ambitious artist who was
versed in many techniques, and his grand master-
piece was a vast mural cycle at Delphi represent-
ing Odysseus descent into the Underworld.
Classical Period Fresco Painting, Parthenon, Athens,
5th c BC]
It was Apollodoros in the Classical Period
who invented skiagraphos, which means to
shade. It is he who thrust Western painting onto
a long road which would reach its climax twenty
centuries later in the work of Caravaggio, the
ultimate shadow artist. This movement towards
shading propelled art on a radical path whereupon
it would give sculptural and three dimensional
form to the figure, and bridge the gap between the
painterly imagination and optical reality. Changing
times required new media to reflect the shifting
landscape of artistic evolution, and encaustic was
a medium that aptly found a new central role. Apol-
lodoros invention created a ripple effect in which a
chasm developed, causing a division in art which
lingers to this daythe eternal debate and tension
between form and color, pathos and ethos, line
and chiaroscuro .
The real moment where encaustic would
take center stage was at the end of the Classical
period and the beginning of the Hellenistic period,
when a great school flourished on the Peloponne-
susSikyon. I had the privilege of visiting the site
this past summer with my wife. This city, which was
one of the oldest in Greece, became the equivalent
of a Florence, Paris, or New York, in antiquity. It sits
upon a hill overlooking the strait which separates
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Peloponnesus from the mainland. There was a
great school of painting, and it is said that compe-
tition was tremendous to enter, and if one was
accepted, one faced paying tuition not unlike what
todays college students face. Eupompos, one of
the first celebrity teachers, charged a talent per
year at the academy, which was the equivalent of
$20,000. Considering that in ancient times people
did not have the same resources as today, that
sum of money was a huge sacrifice for any family
Francisco Benitez
sending their child to be educated. Eupompos was
the radical educator. He was one of the crucial
figures that lifted art from being a manual craft
to a higher sphere of intellectual and philosophi-
cal pursuit. He developed a program of instruction
that encompassed not only mastery of materials,
drawing, painting, anatomy, subject matter, etc,
he also enveloped his students in, what we would
consider today, a liberal arts or Renaissance
learning atmosphere. Arithmetic, logic, geometry,
grammar, and many of the disciplines associated
with a classical education were an integral part
of the Sikyonian schools program. If this was not
enough, Eupompos also saw to drawing being an
integral part of the education of free schoolchil-
dren all throughout Greece. It was no longer craft;
it had become part of a well-rounded, enlightened
education.
Featured Artist
Sikyon today
Out of this brilliant school came some of
the greatest names of Greek art. Today they are
unknown, but in antiquity they had a celebrity status
rivaling or surpassing that of Picasso or Warhol. Pliny
states that certain paintings sold for the prices of
entire cities, and in Roman times coveted master-
pieces brought from Greece were hung in public
places and were almost considered sacred. These
paintings became so famous that a whole business
7
was born which has uncanny parallels to todays
poster businessmaster artisans would propose to
wealthy Roman patrons to recreate famous Greek
Spring
masterpieces in their villas, which would be part of
 a larger decorative wall fresco scheme. One of the
most stunning examples is at the House of the Vettii
at Pompeii, where we can recognize masterpieces
by Zeuxis, Timomachos of Byzantium, and others.
Francisco Benitez
Metope from the Tomb of the Swing, 4th c BC,
encaustic, Louvre
In the Natural History, Pliny states that it is
not agreed who invented encaustic--but the first
artist to become famous as a true encaustic artist
in his own right was Pausias. Although we have little
Featured Artist
idea as to the scale and appearance of his work,
Pliny mentions his work was smaller scale on wood,
and often the subject matter was children and floral
arrangements. Pausias also did ceiling paintings,
frescoes, and large paintings. It is not clear whether
he used encaustic with those projects. One thing
that is known about his encaustic painting was that
was a slow process and to counter criticism, he
executed what came to be known as the One-Day
Boy, as he did a full length picture of a boy in a
single day. is nonetheless beautiful as it has the appearance
The master who taught encaustic to
Pausias was Pamphilos, who happened to be
the teacher of Apelles--considered the greatest
painter of antiquity. Although the jury is still out on
whether Apelles was an encaustic or tempera
painter, there is no doubt he raised painting to a
level which would not be equaled until the Renais-
sance nearly 1,500 years later. Apelles was not only
the personal court artist to Alexander the Great, he
pushed projectivist space outwards, inwards, and
8
all around. His figures were steeped in atmospher-
ic perspective ; his compositions were ambitious
and full of mathematical complexity. According to
Spring
a recent study , the author of the famous painting
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upon which Alexander mosaic at the Museo
Nazionale in Naples is based, is actually by Apelles
and not Philoxenos, as has been widely believed.
There is a mention that Apelles wax would fain
have inscribed you in Statius Silvae. It is hard
to believe such a vast and ambitious composi-
tion such as Alexander Vanquishing Darius could
have been done with such a painstaking method
such as heated encaustic. One thing that must be
remembered is that in antiquity there was a cold
and hot method for encaustic. Perhaps for larger
compositions, the cold technique, also known as
Punic wax, was used.
Alexander Mosaic, Museo Nazionale, Naples
The meaning of encaustic in Greek is to
burn in; therefore it would seem a contradiction
in terms to say that a cold wax method needed
to be burned in. Although Punic waxs origins are
unclearfrom the name we can assume there is
some connection with Carthage or North Africa
it became a widely used wax technique. It was
made by boiling purified beeswax, and adding
natrum, or the equivalent of a saponifying agent
such as potash or sodium bicarbonate. In essence,
it becomes a soapy wax which air dries, and can
further be manipulated and fused by approach-
ing a heating element such as a thermastris, or its
modern equivalent--a heat gun or iron. Although
Punic wax lacks the luminosity of heated wax, it
of a kind of wax-like tempera. Numerous studies
Encaustic setup by Euphrosyne Doxiadis,
author of the Mysterious Fayum Portraits]

Fayum Lady, c 200 AD
on the Fayum portraits have revealed that both
hot and cold methods were used, which means
that depending on the local atelier and tradition,
encaustic could mean one or the other.
As we pass from the golden age of Helle-
nistic painting and the Sikyonian School to Imperial
Rome, we see encaustic still retains a central role
in painting, especially for portrait painting as its
optical depth lends itself so well to the rendering
of human skin. The great tradition of ancestor
portraits flourished in Rome, and as the Imperial
Age fell into decline, the outlying provinces of
the empire maintained their own local traditions,
which are most evident today in the vast number
of funerary portraits which have been unearthed in
Egypt, known as the Fayum portraits.
It is believed the Fayum portraits have
their origins in the Alexandrian School, which was
associated with Apelles passing through the city
later in his life. As Greeks began to colonize Egypt
more and more, especially in the fertile district of
the Fayum (south of Cairo), an unusual tradition
developed which was the fusion of local Egyptian
funerary traditions with rational realistic Western
painting approaches. Artists were both Greek
and native-born, and infused the more ancient,
hieratic and symbolic approach to portraiture with
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Contrary to what is
commonly thought, the
sarcophagi were not buried
immediately; they were kept
in a special chamber in the
household and brought out
on special occasions so
the spirit of the ancestor
could be present.
Francisco Benitez
one which was individualizing, skiagraphic, and
psychological.
Many of the tools which were used were
medical instruments for eye surgery, cleaning
the ears, etc, and in the mid-nineteenth century
a tomb was discovered in Northern France of a
woman painter from the same period, although
clearly a different region, who had a box of waxes
and various cauteria or tools. The markings
of the heated tools are clearly seen in any of the
Fayum portraits. Although it cannot be determined
at present whether they were executed by itinerant
artists, or whether it was the clients who went to
the artists studio, it is clear is that they are remark-
able in the high level of technique and sophistica-
tion, and demonstrate how the encaustic method
lends itself remarkably well to representing the
pathos of the sitters. The works often remained in
the household of the owner until death, at which
time they were applied to a sarcophagus. Contrary
to what is commonly thought, the sarcophagi
Featured Artist
were not buried immediately; they were kept in a
special chamber in the household and brought out
on special occasions so the spirit of the ancestor
could be present. After a number of generations,
when the memory of the ancestor started to fade,
the sarcophagus was buried often in a careless
fashion in the ground with no ceremony. It is remark-
able that the portraits are in such superb condition
considering the neglectful way in which they were
disposed.
9
Spring
Set of cauteria, National Archaeological Museum,
Athens
 As these works were
executed in the first few
centuries after the birth of
Christ, they are what we
would consider products of
late antiquity. The Fayum
portraits are the last breath
of the great Sikyonian
School, before expiring at
the dawn of the Byzantine
Francisco Benitez

period. After the fall of the

Roman Empire, and when
Christianity was sweeping
St. Peter, St. Catherine most of the Western world,
Monastery, Sinai
we see the last examples
of encaustic painting in a series of precious panels
which are currently at the St. Catherine Monastery in
the Sinai, depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary, St. Peter.
These works laid the foundation for the ever-popu-
lar and widespread icon painting tradition which
continues to this day. However, it was tempera that
took the torch, and until present icon painters tradi-
tionally use tempera instead of encaustic.
At the end of the 6th century AD, encaustic
disappears from view. Already in the later Fayum
portraits, one sees a return to a more symbolic Comte de Caylus
and schematic way of representing faces; since
tempera was cheaper and easier to use, it began rediscovered in the mid 18th century. He read Pliny
to replace the more expensive and work-intensive carefully and became obsessed with this ancient
encaustic portraits of an earlier period. technique which had held a prime place millennia
Although it is impossible to say that it was before the well-respected oil technique was even
not practiced in certain quarters of the world, developed. In the tumultuous times preceding the
perhaps in isolated communities in Greece or French Revolution, Caylus would feud with other
Russia, encaustic disappeared from view for over a intellectuals of the period, namely Diderot, for not
Featured Artist

thousand years. During the Renaissance, the only
artists who attempted to experiment with wax were
Lucas Cranach and Andrea Mantegna. It would
take the emerging and evolving scientific disci-
pline of archaeology to resurrect it from obscurity.
In the 1599, Pompeii was discovered, as were a
host of other sites throughout the ancient world in
the following centuries. Excavations at Herculane-
um began in 1738, and in the 18th century fervor
swept Europe with a passion for the antique--the
lost methods of the ancient artists held new appeal.
The 18th century was a very complex time since
the church was losing hegemony over the minds
and bodies of the population; scientific thought
was emerging at a meteoric pace, and art was
going through an identity crisis. As the idealism
and powerful impulses of the Renaissance had
dissipated, many artists and intellectuals sought
inspiration in the great traditions of the pastPliny
suddenly became interesting, as did political ideas
10
revealing the recipes of the ancient wax mixtures
Although Caylus discovery was greeted with a
certain amount of skepticism in artistic and intel-
lectual circles of 18th century France, they sowed
the seeds of a whole new generation of investiga-
tors of the methods of the ancients which would
continue well into the 20th century.
The 19th century saw the publication of
numerous tracts on encaustic painting, namely
Jacques Nicolas Paillot de Montabert who published
an eight-volume set of books on painting tech-
niques (1829) which featured an entire volume on
encaustic, as well as a landmark study published
in 1884 by Frenchmen Henry Cros and Charles
Henry, entitled, Lencaustique.

developed initially in the ancient world, which

propelled the radical overthrow of a royalist auto-
cratic regime in France in the late 18th century.
One figure would emerge as the discov-
Spring

erer of the ancient encaustic methodthe Count

of Caylus. Caylus was a fervent French antiquar-
ian, artist, historian, and all-around intellectual, and
it is thanks to him that the encaustic method was St. Mdard-des-Prs tomb objects

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 Although encaustic was
something which fascinated anti-
quarians and historians, it did
not become popular until the
development and widespread
diffusion of electricity in the 20th
century. Mexican muralists were
among the first to revive the
technique, as well as French
spiritual artist Georges Roualt, in
the first half of the 20th century.

Francisco Benitez
In pre-war America, Karl Zerbe
and David Aronson were known
as artists who investigated and
experimented with encaustic.
This period did not have the anti-
quarian passion of a previous
generation, but nonetheless did
see the publication of a landmark
book on encaustic, which was
to be crucial for modern artists
curious about the methodThe
Painters Companion, A Basic
Guide to Studio Methods and
Materials (1949) by Reed Kay .
In post-war America,
Jasper Johns began to experi-
ment with the method for his Tony Sherman
Target series, and in the
1. Richard Frumess, Encaustic Painters of Ancient Times,
years following, artists such as
2009 (founder of R&F Handmade Paints).
Robert Rauschenberg, Mimmo
2. Aerial perspective or atmospheric perspective refers
Paladino, Roy Lichtenstein,
to the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance
and Julian Schnabel made it an
of an object as it is viewed from a distance.
integral part of their practice.

Featured Artist
3. Paolo Moreno, Apelles: The Alexander Mosaic, Skira, 2001.
In the 1980s and 90s
4. Margaret Bevier, http://gallery.sjsu.edu/arth198/painting/encaustic.html
encaustic became the best-
5. Margaret Bevier, http://gallery.sjsu.edu/arth198/painting/encaustic.html
kept secret of emerging artistic
6. Joanne Mattera, The Art of Encaustic Painting, 2001.
media, with artists such as
7. The Whole Works of Xenephon, Harvard, 1916.
Joanne Mattera, Paula Roland,
Tony Sherman pushing the
medium to its limits in abstract,
figurative, and mixed-media
directions. Today encaustic has
become one of the most popular
artistic media, with artists discov-
ering an endless potential for
layering and process. Artists
like myself have been aston-
ished by encaustics capacity
for rendering optical reality in a
way which evokes Xenephons
depiction of Socrates visiting
the atelier of Parrhasios: Is not
painting, Parrhasios, a represen-
tation of what we see?[1]
11

For more information about Francisco:

Spring

http://www.franciscobenitez.com/

Francisco Benitez, The Voyage 18X24

www.EAINM.com
 Yo u r C o m p l e t e Re s o u r c e f o r
Pro f e s s i o n al Grade Encaustics
a n d P i gment Sticks

8 0 0 . 2 0 6 . 8 088 | rfpaints.com
 The Harmony Community Project
HARMONY, 4 x 8, 32 encaustic-on-wood panels

The HARMONY project was originally
conceived as a way to engage a
community of artists in a collaborative
creative project. 32 encaustic artists
from all over the United States formed the
original community to bring HARMONY
into reality. This monumental art piece
will inspire an ever expanding community
celebrating the human spirit.
The Encaustic Art Institute, a New Mexico
Non Profit Art Corporation (www.eainm.
com) has embraced the vision with
its community of artists by purchasing
HARMONY and taking it to the larger
community by soliciting sponsorships
and organizing the fund-raising displays
in many cities.
The HARMONY project will tour eight major
cities using local and national sponsors,
local art galleries and museums to display
HARMONY in public spaces. Additional
art and auction items will be donated and
sold as part of the fund-raising effort and
community experience. Our goal is to
raise enough funds to construct a home
in each supporting community.
We invite you to become a part of this
great community and become a sponsor,
donate your art, time and heart, or just
experience the energy of community.
The first community will be Albuquerque/
Santa Fe, New Mexico with the following
efforts:
Recruit sponsors from the design
and construction community
Architects, building suppliers,
contractors, utilities, media, etc.
Government agencies,
Non-Governmental
Organizations, museums, faith-
based organizations, etc.
Determine public place for
HARMONY display and events
Schedule and advertise fund-
raising events including media
coverage and dates for community
fund-raising functions.
Donate raised funds to Habitat
for Humanity in a media event.

For additional information,

Habitat for Humanity was chosen as the including each of the HARMONY
ideal beneficiary of funds raised through artists stories, please visit:
www.rodneythompson.com/
the HARMONY experience. Habitat for temporary_storage/HARMONY.html
Humanity seeks to eliminate poverty Details can be found by clicking
on individual panels within the
housing and homelessness from the grid.
world and to make decent shelter a
matter of conscience and action. Funds
raised by the HARMONY community are
donated to this noble cause.
13

HARMONY
Spring

www.EAINM.com
 TAKING AN
AESTHETIC LEAP:
How I Moved From
Here to There

By Nancy Natale

Last year I began making

a new series of work in mixed
media with encaustic that I call
Na nc y Natale

the Running Stitch. The works

combine the sculptural qualities
of wax with an accretion of
elements to make semi-relief,
loosely-geometric paintings
that allude to the building up
and wearing away of memory
over time. By cutting strips Tingshas, from the Black Relics series, 1995.
from materials such as parts of Foam rubber and tacks, 12Hx22W.
old books, painted paper and
cardboard, recycled rubber
and patinated metal, I create a
rigorous jumble of texture, color,
reflectivity and material asso-
ciations while making a new
abstract arrangement with a rich
physical presence.
The many tacks I use to
attach the elements to wooden
panels superimpose a flexible
grid and add a polyrhythmic
undertone to the main horizontal
or vertical orientation of the strips.
Once I have completed construc-
tion, I begin to paint. Pigmented
encaustic not only adds color,
but also it unifies the elements,
and pumps up the muscular-
ity of the composition by adding
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dimension and highlighting the

organizing grid. Encaustic is the
magic ingredient that turns the
construction into a painting. The
fact that I use a heated tool called
a shoe to fuse the encaustic
in the Running Stitch series is
serendipity.

Promised Land, from the Running Stitch Series, 2010. Encaustic with
14

mixed media, 27H x 42W.

Spring

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 Tracing
the Steps in the
Development Process
This series reflects an aesthetic
leap in my work, but my forward
movement was achieved bit
by bit. I would like to share how
the series came about because
I think it demonstrates several
processes that artists use to
develop their work.

1) Arrange Your

Na nc y Natale
Own Retrospective:
Looking Back to See
Ahead
The impetus for my new body
of work was a serious look back
at work I had made some years
before. I think this is a valuable
process for any artist. When
you look back at older work,
you can see how your work
has developed, what consistent
tendencies you have shown over
time, and where you are headed.
In my case, just prior to the third Some Fell Among Thorns, from the Running Stitch
annual encaustic conference in Series, 2010. Encaustic with mixed media, 24H x
2009, I was looking through a 42W.
book about the early work of Lee
Bontecou. Her work jogged my
memory of a series I had made in
the 1990s that I called the Black
Relics. I was inspired to revisit my
early pieces to see if there was
still something in them for me.

2) First Imitate, Then

Innovate
The first new works I made
were basically the same as the

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old in being composed of small
elements attached to wood with
tacks. I wanted to find a way to
add encaustic to this work, so I
experimented by adding and
subtracting areas of encaustic
and various other materials with
each new piece I made. I also
began purposefully keeping a
notebook of sketches and ideas
for future works.
15

Black Sun, 2009.

Encaustic with mixed
media, 24Hx12W.
Spring

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 3) Learn about the
Context and Think
about the Concept
I began to realize that I needed
some conceptual underpinning
for my work because I was unable
to answer to my own satisfaction
the question of what my work
was about. Was it only built on
formal considerations such as
composition or color? I had been
operating from what I would call
an Abstract Expressionist point of
Na nc y Natale
view, which was that my work did
not need any meaning outside
of itself; that it was more about
intuitive process and experimen-
tation than ideas or concepts. But
even if that were true, my work
fell somewhere in an art histori-
cal context which I could find by
studying the work of other artists
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Getso Blue, from the Running Stitch Series, 2010. Encaustic with mixed
media, 12 x 12.
16
Spring
and examining the meaning that
artists, critics and historians gave
to their work. This would allow
me to see how my own work
related to the larger world of art
and understand it from a different
perspective. I also needed an
underlying concept to move my
work from disjointed experiments
to finished works of art.
4) Find Your Concept
(I Remembered
Memory)
I did not have to cast about
too long before I realized that
memory and memory loss
were occupying a large part
of my attention. As my elderly
mother slipped into dementia,
I was seeing at close range the
extent to which memory plays
www.EAINM.com
an integral part in personality
and how memory loss alters a
persons ability to function. Since
this subject had come to occupy
such a prominent place in my
mind, I allowed it to occupy a
similar place in my work.
5) Invent the
Metaphor
When I began thinking about
books as metaphors for human
memory, I knew that I had found
a physical form for my subject.
All that remained was to experi-
ment with the many old books I
had rescued years before and
carted around until the appropri-
ate moment. I began by making
two small series using books,
tacks and encaustic on panels.
The End is Near and
the Beginning is at
Hand
From that point, it all seemed
to fall into place: I defined and
simplified my materials and
superimposed the gridded orga-
nization. The final step was using
a hot tool (the shoe) instead of a
heat gun or torch to give me the
very specific fusing I needed to
control the encaustic application.
The Running Stitch sprinted into
my life.
For more information about
Nancy: http://nancynatale.net/
Photographic credit: John Polak,
JohnPolakPhotography.com
Red No. 3, from
the Running Stitch
Series, 2010.
Encaustic with mixed
media, 10H x 8W
 Eile e n G o lde nbe rg
Array 111, 24x24 encaustic

Eileen P. Goldenberg
My paintings explores material, color and space by
combining ordered, repetitive elements with visual

Spotlight
texture and translucency, taking full advantage of
encaustics ability to tease the eye, simultaneously
revealing and concealing. I paint organically, letting
my emotions lead the way, literally feeling my way
into each piece.

The thousands of tiny orbs seem at first to be

identical, but like humans, they are in fact all distinct
and individual. Look closely and you can see the
razor sharp outlines that contrast with the soft
blending of luminous subtle color. I meticulously
add layer upon layer of molten wax, submerging
feelings that will later be revealed, giving them a life
17

of their own.

www.eileenPgoldenberg.com
Spring

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 TOTAL
IMMERSION:
LAYERS OF LIFE
AND WAX

How San
Francisco
Abstract Artist
How a rd He r s h

Howard Hersh
Approaches His
Art Practice

By Lynette Haggard

Howard Hersh in his studio

When Howard Hersh sets out to make a painting, the process

is in motion long before he melts the pigment and wax. After over
25 years of creating artwork, his subconscious has become a vast
subliminal repository of references, perceptions and sensibilities. As
he works, he taps into this, following intuition, memories, and imagi-
nation, and so the painting begins.
Hersh considers it critical to his creative practice that he
spends time in his studio daily. Whether or not he picks up a brush
to paint, or a pan to pourhe spends time there, living with his work
and the process of making his art. Following his passion, this time
spent in the studio contributes to a lifestyle of total immersion. This
habit supports Hershs ability to have strong vision and awareness as
he works. Referring to nature his dominant muse this influence is
intrinsic to his work. He recalls spending early childhood years playing
in the woods, camping with his family, and later, being part of the
back to the land movement of the 1960s. Hersh describes these
events as having profoundly impacted his psyche and being inherent
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Detail of Lefts & right

to his identity. These earliest childhood experiences inform his work
today.
A self-professed non-academic artist, Hersh downplays the
importance of historical context but values his current connections to
life, nature, and the world around him. He views each body of work
as a continuumthat which was created last year and yesterday is
connected to the work he creates today. As he works on an individual
painting, each piece takes on a life of its own.
Because encaustic has no drying time, he prefers to work on Each painting
one piece at a time. The exception would be when he becomes initiates a dialogue
stumped on a painting, at which point he may decide to start another that I must engage
oneuntil he can figure out whats required with the stalled piece. in.
Putting down the paint, pouring the wax, making marks,
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choosing color, and making decisions while working to resolve the

painting is a very fluid process. Says Hersh: Each painting initiates a
dialogue with me. Sometimes this is a quick and easy process, and
Spring

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 How a rd He r s h
Hershs studio at Hunters Point Shipyards

sometimes its a downright struggle. As the painting develops, some questions are answered and some
new ones appear. This is the process of creativity for me.

PROPERTIES OF WAVES AND PARTICLES

Hersh has completed about 30 paintings in the Waves and Particles series, started in 2010. He
says: Sometimes I like to use titles to lead the viewer into ways of thinking that they might not take. For

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example, some of the concepts that I like to evoke for the viewer might be the contrast and difference
between what is seen or unseen; the subtleties between intuition and knowledge; thoughts and actions;
intention and results.
In Waves and Particles, his intention is to suggest that energy and matter are really all there is. The
pulse (waves) of the universe is what articulates and forms matter (particles). While this phenomenon is
quite scientific, waves and particles create a nice metaphor for many other principles. Within the paintings
themselves, the gently curved lines represent waves and the circular pools of paint, the particles.
Hersh claims to refer to a previous work in order to give context and a jumping off point for the new
one. Analyzing that and what he considers the strengths and weaknesses of the work, he then attempts
to steer the new painting in the desired direction. Referring to the Waves and Particles series, he says:
Since the concept of the Waves and Particles has not changed, this leaves me with mostly aesthetic
decisions about how to create a more successful picture. Some considerations for him while assessing
19

a piece include: is the piece too busy or too empty; too graphic or too subtle; too big or small; too colorful
or too monochromatic.
Spring

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 BEFORE RELEASING WORK INTO THE WORLD
Because Hersh (and most artists) work in isolation, he must
rely on himself as his own most serious critic. There are questions
of the individual piece being resolved, but also the larger criteria of
whether the direction hes going with the work is adequately fulfilling
his aesthetic and goals as a communicator. That being said, before
Hersh feels that a painting is ready to leave his studio, the work must
pass his criteria. When he considers each piece, he also considers
whether the work is achieving what he wants it to communicate to a
viewer. Once he has fulfilled his process, the work is complete and
released to the public.
How a rd He r s h

Howard Hersh is represented by: Butters Gallery, Portland,

Oregon, Addington Gallery, Chicago, NuArt Gallery, Santa
Fe, and Gallery One, Nashville. For additional information:
http://www.howardhersh.com/artstats/hershstat.html

LYNETTE HAGGARD is an artist, blogger and writer living in the

Boston area. A founding member of New England Wax, she is
also an invited presenter at the National Encaustic conference.
Haggard holds a BFA from Philadelphia College of Art. Marquee, 72 X 64

I see nature
as my dominant
muse.
Portfolio
20
Spring

Houston, 72 X 216
www.EAINM.com
 Upcoming Conferences
For additional information: www.encausticconference.blogspot.com For registration: www.castlehill.org
Thanks for putting on a wonderful conference! (Encaustic Art Institute)

When: September 22 25, 2011

Where: McMenamins Edgefield Manor, Troutdale, OR
Who: IEA Members. New members may join at time of registration for $75.
Cost: Early registration: $325 before May 1, 2011. $425 after May 1st. Includes eight meals. Registration
deadline: August 15, 2011
Lodging: Hotel costs are not part of the retreat fee. You must make your own hotel reservations with
McMenamins Edgefield Manor. They have very affordable hostel type dorm rooms, family rooms that
21

sleep 5-6 and private rooms. Costs start around $30. Email Manuela for info on room sharing. Need other
lodging options?
Meals: Friday breakfast through Sunday lunch are included in your registration fee.
Spring

Transportation: Several options are available to you on the details page.

For additional information and registration: http://www.iea-retreat2011.com

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 WAX IN MOTION

Questions &
Ki m B e r na rd

Answers with Kim

Bernard

My work has
Kim Bernard, Spirendulum,Process, 2011
become an
exploration of
movement.
Encaustic Arts: How did you begin working with encaustics?
Kim Bernard: Before I had ever heard of encaustic, I used microcrys-
talline wax in my sculptural work during my years at Parsons, where I
received my BFA in sculpture, and later in the lost wax bronze casting
process. In the late 1990s, when I was searching for a medium to
bring color into my sculpture, I started seeing encaustic in galleries. I
was drawn to the versatility of the medium as well as its viscous and
tactile qualities.
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AE: And now you teach others how to work with the medium?
KB: Yes, I love to share what I know with others. Ive been teaching
part time for 24 years, and recently returned to school myself to get
my MFA at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Mostly, I teach
at the Maine College of Art and throughout New England as a visiting
artist, but I also teach workshops around the country. I had a residency
in Key West in January where I taught encaustic and exhibited my
work. Ill be teaching workshops in Arizona and New Mexico this
month. In the summer I hold a variety of encaustic workshops in
my studio in Southern Maine: Intro to Encaustics, Next Level Encaus-
Just,Breathe, 24x24, 2011
tics, Exploring Dimensionality, Encaustic & Wax Resist and Ceramic
& Encaustic.
AE: Do you teach anything besides encaustic?
22

KB: Yes. I teach a workshop I call The Creative Habit that Ive designed
to help emerging artists to not only examine their studio practice but
to develop themselves professionally. So many artists have no idea
how to present themselves to a gallery and need some guidance. I
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have also designed a workshop called Movement, Mark Making &

Mindfulness where students develop an awareness of their body in
space and explore their personal kinesthetic language through the
practice of yoga, breathing and meditation to inform their personal,

www.EAINM.com
 visual language of painting,
drawing and mark making.
AE: Movement is an important
component in your work. Why
movement?
KB: I started dancing when I was
three and have tried everything
from ballet, jazz and tap to belly
dancing, salsa, African dance,
Greek dance, you name it! Years
ago, I studied and taught Kenpo
Kung-Fu. Just last summer I
took a course in aerial fabric and

Ki m B e r na rd
trapeze. For the last four years
Ive been practicing Ashtanga
yoga. I just love movement and it
has been as consistent in my life
as my studio practice. Several
years ago I started question-
ing why these two loves were
separate. I started exploring
how to merge my art and my
movement. Its taken me on a
wild journey. Ive become fasci-
nated with physics, how things
move, kinesthetics and muscle
memory. My work has become
an exploration of movement.
Sometimes its about gesture,
sometimes its kinetic sculpture,
sometimes I use mechanical
devices to create a mark and
sometimes I make the mark as a
record of my movement.
AE: Tell me about the wax
pendulum you created
KB: I was doing research at the
Boston Museum of Science a
year ago and became intrigued
with the sand pendulum there.
I saw that I could replace the
sand with hot wax to make a

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mark and track the pendulums
movement. I designed and
cast, at the MassArt foundry, an
aluminum pendulum specifi-
cally for encaustic. I have been
creating a body of work with it
that I call my Spirendulum Series.
These pieces involve encaustic
panels that I position on the studio
floor to receive marks made with
my wax-drizzling pendulum that
I swing, push and propel. Often
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I suspend the pendulum from

one pivot point which gives me
a symmetrical, round design,
like in Spirometry. If I hang the
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pendulum from two points, as

Lissajous, Medium, 48x24 2010

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 in Lissajous, I get more of an
infinity design. The way I set the
pendulum in motion, with what
amount of force and in what
direction, determines the wax
mark it makes. I have become
quite adept at controlling the
mark and predicting where and
how the pendulum will swing.
AE: Do you work with mediums
other than encaustic?
KB: Yes, the list is long Ive
worked with clay, steel, stone,
Ki m B e r na rd

wood, lead, cement, springs, and

all kinds of drawing materials. I
also love video because it allows
me to capture movement. I use
whatever I need to communicate
my ideas. It often takes me into
unknown territory, which is very
exciting.
AE: What are you up to now?
KB: I have an installation going
into the Biennial at the Portland
Museum of Art, so Im working
on that and coordinating volun-
teers because theres a perfor-
mative component to it. Its a
kinetic sculpture made up of 17
cast wax droplets that hang and
bounce from cables and steel Spirometry, 36x36, 2010
strips that are attached to the
wall and need to be activated
thats where the volunteers
come in. Next, Ill work on
some new encaustic sculptural
work for an exhibit at the Truro
Center for the Arts at Castle
Hill in conjunction with the 5th
National Encaustic Conference.
Im always creating work for
the galleries that represent me.
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Plus, I mentor MFA students and

give individual consultations with
emerging artists. Theres never a
dull moment!

More about Kim:

www.kimbernard.com
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Set In Motion, 36x48, 2010

Spring

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 S te p ha n ie Hue rta
Stephanie Huerta
This piece is the 3rd in my new
series of Ethereal Portraiture.
The first step in this process is
taking a life-cast mold of the
model. I then cast it in Hydros-
tone, and back it up with a few
layers of plaster bandage to add
strength. After it cures its time to
cut the skull and place the antlers
(which were carefully chosen
for each piece) . I plaster them
in with more hydrostone and
plaster bandage. For hanging
I designed and fabricated a
system similar to flagpole attach-
ments. I plaster in rebar, after I
seal it with shellac, so it doesnt
rust and discolor the plaster, and
that slides and locks into the wall
attachment. The piece is now
ready for the encaustic. My tools
of choice are the Iwatani torch
and electric skillet for heat. I also
use the line of encaustic tools
put out by Sculpture House. On
this piece I layered many colors
on the corset area and scraped

Spotlight
back through, after cooling to
expose the rich colors through-
out. I use the torch to create a
smooth shiny texture on the rest
Etherea
of the form. With hydrostone you
need to be careful not to over
heat because it can become
brittle. Other than that I find it
to be an outstanding material to
work on with encaustic. You can
be extremely creative and sculp-
tural with it.
25

For more information about Stephanie:

http://www.stephaniehuerta.com
Spring

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 DANCING
BETWEEN
IMPROVISATION
AND DISCIPLINE

A Conversation with
Paula Roland About
the Process and
Poetics of Her Work
Pa ula Ro la nd

Paula Roland is one

of the most experienced and
accomplished artists working
in encaustic today. Shes had
dozens of one-woman shows
and won multiple awards,
including one from the National
Endowment for the Arts. After
years of teaching painting and
drawing in colleges, Roland
began developing and popu-
larizing the little-know process
of Encaustic Monotypes. Her
workshops in monotype making
and other encaustic techniques
regularly sell out. Roland holds
an MFA from the University of
New Orleans.
For Encaustic Arts
Magazine, she talked about
her work with writer Gretchen
Reynolds.

GRETCHEN REYNOLDS: How

would you describe the main
themes of your work, Paula?
PAULA ROLAND: My work A Butterfly Affect, 50 x 31, Encaustic, Graphite,
embodies thoughts and ideas Transfers on Paper.
about nature that are at a deep
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core of self, from the small but

mighty force of a blade of grass
pushing up through concrete, to
the natural force of a hurricane.
I observed this collision between
nature and humans growing
up on the Gulf Coast and it is
still at the heart of my work. By
using spontaneous processes
and unpredictable materials, the
works mimic the complexity and
diversity of nature herself. I want
26

the forms to seemingly emerge

out of nothing, like a natural force.
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Left: Fractal and Flora, Triptych, 40 X 82, Layered Encaustic

Monotypes. Right: Disappear, 80 X 78 X 6. Layered Encaustic
Monotypes (12). All prints with back lighting.
Photo: Bernard Handzel


www.EAINM.com
GR: Youve been exhibit-
ing successfully for more than
30 years. How has the work
changed? Stayed the same?
PR: The work looks quite different,
but the themes and motivation
are similar. Im still fascinated by
the intersection between nature
and culture and have a continued
interest in combining or stretch-
ing boundaries. A drawing can
be done with paint; a painting
can be a sculpture; and a print
GR: Whats your working
process? How do ideas develop?
PR: I start with a lot of research
and free experimentation. When I
become intrigued by a discovery,
I proceed with more intention and
set limits in terms of materials,
color, process, etc. There is only
one best way for each piece or
series to be made and some
ideas will incubate for years. I
read my own work, as if it were
being done by someone else.
Its an interesting process of
self-discovery that helps me find
deeper meaning and a clear
path. I make art because I really
want to see the next piece.

Pa ula Ro la nd
may become part of an installa-
tion. The work has become more
inclusive of current influences and
interests. Chaos theory, fractals,
systems, ideas about beauty and
abstraction in art, spirituality and
much more--these all show up in
the work.
Im still very drawn to
materials and processes, espe-
cially those that are slightly out of
my control and require improvi-
sation. In the 1980s and 1990s,
I used media that dried quickly,
requiring action and response
and could not be reworked.
These had to be completed in a
few hours and yet revealed the
drama and poetics I wanted.
Encaustic painting and printmak-
ing are even more of an impro-
visational dance. The conscious
mind gets out of the way and
allows the body to act intuitively
and imaginatively.
The biggest change is
that there is a reductive quality,
an economy of means, because
Ive made a conscious decision

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to limit color and non essential
elements. This gives the work
a quiet focus. The monotypes
foster absorption, a meditative,
internalized rhythm, while stim-
ulating countless avenues for
exploration.
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Disappear, Side View, 80 X 78 X 6, 12 Encaustic Monotypes Cut and

Layered, with Back Lighting. Photo: Bernard Handzel
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www.EAINM.com
 I wanted to make a piece
that reflected both the beauty
and the fragility of the land,
and the lace-like quality
supported that. The piece has
come to represent vanishing
landscapes everywhere.

working very large again, using my whole body to

make paintings that resemble abstracted maps.
Overall, I will let the work lead me to its best expres-
Disappear, Detail sion. Its organic.
GR: Will you always work in encaustic?
Pa ula Ro la nd

PR: I cant imagine not. It has all the magical, unruly

qualities and endless possibilities that I like. But the
works content dictates the method and materials.
Its about the ideas, not the medium.

Peony, 7 X 10, Detail of Installation For the Bees,

Encaustic, graphite, natural beeswax on board

GR: Your recent large-scale installation, Disappear,

is spectacular, with its layers of colors and phos-
phorescence. What inspired that particular work,
and how in the world did you make it glow?
PR: I was experimenting with melting multi-
colored encaustic beads and ribbons on my giant
HOTbox, observing how the island-like shapes
flowed and joined other shapes. It reminded
me of the time I flew over the Louisiana coast in
an airplane and the amazing sight of the cellular
land forms, disappearing, being reclaimed by the
water. Disappear consists of 12 large encaustic
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monotypes, three layers deep, joined together

and suspended from the ceiling. The melted wax
renders the paper translucent and light can pass
through. Disappear is lit from the rear by wall-
mounted fluorescent lights which are hidden and
diffused by the paper and wax. In addition, the
paper is pierced and cut to resemble lace. I wanted
to make a piece that reflected both the beauty and
the fragility of the land, and the lace-like quality
supported that. The piece has come to represent
vanishing landscapes everywhere.
28

GR: Whats next in your progression as an artist?

PR: A few ideas are calling to me. One is to make Ahead of the Buzz, 50 X 31 Encaustic, Graphite on
3-dimensional wall and floor pieces of paper, similar Paper
to Disappear, with glowing light behind. Another
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is to work with collage using encaustic print parts,

which could be an interesting commentary on For more information about Paula:
http://www.paularoland.com
fragmentation and completion and how disparate http://www.RolandWorkshops.com
ideas suddenly fit together. Also, I keep thinking of

www.EAINM.com
 THE ONE AND ONLY
ROLAND ENCAUSTIC
HOTbox

Paula Rolands
Encaustic Workshops
DVD: Encaustic Monotypes--
Painterly Prints with Heat and Wax
Anodized Aluminum Plates
HOTbox

RolandWorkshops.com PaulaRoland.com
THE OPEN STUDIO LLC., SANTA FE, NM

Mining the Unconscious

art exhibitions/community programs inspired by Carl G. Jungs Red Book journal
June 17 - August 28, 2011
Santa Fe, New Mexico
for complete information:
www.miningtheunconscious.org

Jayne Levant. Sea of My Dreams Stephanie Lerma. She Is and Always Will Be Betsie Miller-Kusz. Corazon Salvaje

EXHIBITIONS

Mining the Unconscious. June 17 - August 21. Santa Fe Arts Commission Community Gallery
201 W. Marcy, Santa Fe, NM. Opening June 17, 5 - 7 pm
Mining the Unconscious II. July 8 - August 7, Santa Fe University of Art and Design
1600 St. Michaels Drive, Santa Fe, NM. Opening July 8, 5 - 8 pm

Mining the Unconscious III. August 6 - August 28. The Encaustic Art Institute
18 County Road 55 A, Cerrillos, NM. Opening August 6, 1 - 6 pm
 Encaustic + Paper: A Sample Book
Wendy Aikin, Judy Stabile, Daniella Woolf

From left to right: Daniella Woolf, Wendy Aikin and Judy Stabile
Techne`

Remembering the last encaustic technique we saw or tried,

and where we left the instructions can be a challenge. How many
times have we gone to a conference or class, learned a technique
that we thought was pretty cool, but didnt incorporate into our studio
practice right away? Then later we scramble to find the notes, the
sample, or the handout. One solution is to go back to one reference
point, such as a sample book.
Working on paper is a wonderful way to experiment with a
variety of encaustic techniques. Paper is inexpensive; requires less
wax than a panel; is the perfect surface to document your methods;
and takes up less valuable storage space in your studio. When we
30

were making our DVD, Encaustic + Paper, we thought it would make

sense to pull all of the techniques we taught together into a single
project. We settled on a simple bound sample book. So, here are
the instructions for the sample book and two Encaustic + Paper tech-
Spring

niques for you to try.

www.EAINM.com
 Wendy Aikin:
Bookbinding classes are
wonderful; Ive taken a few,
but they are not my favorite
thing. Bookbinding is an art. It
requires precision and accuracy.
Im not precise or accurate, but
I can pull off a simple pamphlet
style binding. It only takes a
few minutes and doesnt require
an arsenal of tools: an embroi-
dery needle, some waxed linen
thread or dental floss (preferable
not mint), an awl, a pencil and
a piece of paper. This method
works with a small manageable
number of pages. If you bind too
many pages together, they wont
turn properly.
Finished Booklet
Pamphlet Style
Binding:
Arrange the pages. If
you measure like I do, you might
want to try my paper folding
Book Diagram
technique. Take a piece of scrap
paper the size of the book (you
only need a strip). Fold it in half,
and then in half again. Lay the
paper into the fold. At each
crease in the strip of paper,
mark the pamphlet. Clip your
pages together so they dont slip.
Making holes with the awl Punch thru the pamphlet with an
awl where you have marked. Cut
the thread three times the length
of the paper, thread your needle,
and follow the diagram. From the
inside of the book to the outside
of the book, sew down through
A with a single thread leaving a
Sewing the book
tail of three to four inches. Sew
up through B down through
C and up through A. Tie a
Techne`
square knot and your pamphlet
is complete.
Weve also posted the instructions
on YouTube: http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=x1DDNcb3MEk&f
eature=youtube_gdata_player.
31
Spring
Tieing the square knot
www.EAINM.com
 Here you go- big enough?
Rust on Wax
Daniella Woolf:
Rust is a great colorant
for paper and encaustic. You
can find rusty bits on walks, or
get uncoated steel washers at
your local hardware store. Big
box hardware stores sell washers
with a protective coating on
them, which will not rust. So you
will need to procure washers, or
other metal pieces, without this
protective coating. I look for
interesting shapes, and textures
in the metal I use.
Many solutions will rust
metal. My preferred technique
is to use a solution of white
vinegar diluted 50% with water.
Any paper will work. I like to use
Rives BFK, a fairly heavy print-
weight paper, because my local
art supply store sells it in packs

Rust Photographs
of 100 for the best price in the
US! I spray the paper with a 50%
water and white vinegar solution
then place the metal to be rusted
directly on the paper.
To get more bang for
my buck, I lightly spray the top
of the metal, then put a second
piece of paper on top, and weight
it; this will create a ghost print.
I also use a piece of a sheer silk
organza, gauze or thin, light-
colored natural fabric in between
the top and bottom layers of
paper, so the rust goes thru the
cloth and prints onto both the
cloth and layers of paper.
Finally, I put a weight on
the top paper. It takes anywhere
from 6-24 hours for the rusting
to do its magic, depending on
the temperature and humidity
in your location. You can take a
Techne`

peek, or simply leave overnight,

while youre doing other things.
Its a great way to do passive
multitasking! You can also rust
directly onto encaustic medium
or encaustic paint. After the rust
dries, simply paint encaustic
medium over the rusted areas,
fuse and continue to rust, adding
as may layers as you desire.
32
Spring

Rust on paper
www.EAINM.com

Bleaching the paper
Bleached paper
www.EAINM.com
Bleach on Paper
Judy Stabile:
Bleach is something I use sparingly around
the house (as Im disinclined to do housework when
I could be in the studio). Using bleach at my studio
is entirely different. A bleach pen enables one to
create fabulous patterns and drawings on colored
paper. The bleach causes the paper to change
colors, resulting in a rich and beautiful contrast.
Brushing medium on the treated paper can provide
stunning effects.
You can find bleach pens in your grocery
store in the laundry detergent aisle. The pens have
two tips (wide and narrow), and contain bleach in
a gel form. Because bleach fumes can be irritat-
ing, I think it is best to take this project outside.
For protection, wear gloves and old clothes, or an
apron. Lay down a layer of plastic/and or paper to
protect the surface upon which you are working.
Place your paper on the newsprint, shake the pen to
activate the gel, take off the cap, and start drawing.
The line of bleach will be slightly raised, and will
spread. When you are finished, let the bleach dry
completely. When the paper is no longer wet, and
the bleach looks crusty and cracked you are ready
to remove the excess bleach from the paper. Use a
paper towel or soft cloth to gently brush the dried
bleach off of the paper, and apply medium. This will
stop the action of the bleach. You will love the
effects that you can get with this method.
We just returned from a trade show. While
there we were introduced to a product that performs
just like the bleach but is non-toxic and wont eat
holes through your clothing. We will probably have
it in stock by the time this article goes to print.
In the next issues, you will be inspired by a variety
of techniques presented by different artists. We
invite you to experiment, document, and gather
your waxy explorations into a sample book.
Techne`
For additional information
and Wax Works West:
http://www.waxworkswest.com
R.R. Jones is responsible for all
the photographs. Visit his site
here: http://www.rrjones.com
33
Spring
 Interested in advertising within the Encaustic Arts
Institute Magazine?

Quarter Page

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Explore a variety of
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9-11 We Will Never Forget

10th Anniversary
Memorial Dedication
Designed and built by Douglas Mehrens
2011

The sculpture consists of a 36 round

garden base with 6, 8 X 6 glass panels
set in a double triangular form. Visitors can
meander around and thru the sculpture.
Each glass panel represents one of the
significant memories from that momentous
day: The World Trade Center, The Pentagon,
Flight 93, Police and Firefighters, All other
responders, and the last panel the warriors
who have given their all to defend our liberty.
There will also be 6 sculptures, by various
New Mexico artists placed equally around
the perimeter of the memorial. These
pieces will be regularly renewed.

On Sunday, September 11, 2011 at the

Encaustic Art Institute, there will be a
dedication ceremony of the permanent
sculpture commemorating the 10th Anni-
versary of the 9-11-2001.
The all day event will start at 8:00 AM
Sunday, September 11, 2011 with a
moment of silence at the time each event
happened (8:46 [North Tower], 9:03 [South
Tower], 9:37 [Pentagon], 10:31 [Pennsylva-
nia]). The dedication will be led by local fire-
fighters, police, military and interfaith clergy.
The remainder of the day will be an open
house in the EAI Gallery through sunset.
A special commemorative show of EAI
members art will be on display.

Encaustic Art Institute, 18 Country Road 55a,

(General Goodwin Road), Cerrillos, NM 87010

For more information, email:

Mehrens@eainm.com, or call (505) 424-6487
The
10
things
you didnt
know about
bees:

1
Honey Bees are the only insects
that produce food for humans.

2
Honey Bees pollinate 25% of ALL
the foods humans consume.

3
Honey Bees make an average
of 1,600 round trips in order to
produce one ounce of honey.

4
The average honey bee
worker (female) makes
1/12th teaspoon of
honey in her lifetime.

5
Approximately 8
pounds of honey
is eaten by bees
to produce
one pound of
beeswax.

6
Honey is the
only food
that includes
all the
substances
necessary to
sustain life.

7
A 12-19 days old
bee produces wax
through 8 wax glands.

8
1,250,000 bees are required
for producing 2.2 pounds of
wax. The antennae are used as
trowel when constructing the combs.

9
Queen bees will lay as many as 2,000 eggs on a
good day, an average of one every 45 seconds.

10
Honey bees must visit some 2 million
flowers to make one pound of honey

By Stephanie Huerta: http://www.stephaniehuerta.com