Working On An Encaustic Project

Today I continued on with an encaustic project I started a few days ago. I'll take you through it step by step, but not quite to the end!

This is my hot palette, in this shot the waxes are cold, and I had just turned everything on to heat.  When they are hot, they will be clear and liquid.

When I started this, I adhered a very colorful piece of deli wrap which I had used to wipe brushes on with a painting project several months back, to a cradle board. The piece has to be warmed with a heat gun or torch before each layer of wax is brushed on, then heated again to seal the wax to the layer beneath it. With each coat, the colors become more muted. This has had several coats before today.

My heat gun; I will be getting a butane torch to use as well. Both work in encaustics, but there is some difference to the finish it leaves. Can't use a hair dryer for this - not enough heat. The temps need to be about 700 degrees! And of course you have to be careful that you don't burn yourself - ouch!

A couple more coats of beeswax and resin mix has been added - see how the colors look even more muted?

I added strips of ribbon; the wax looks very hazy now, but when it sits and cools completely, the haze will disappear. I pressed the ribbon into the warm wax, then put more layers on top of the ribbon, and then sealed with the heat gun.

Here you can see a different type of ribbon has been added going in the other direction. More wax layers have been added and then sealed. It may look like the colorful base layer has been totally obliterated, but wait - you will still see them in the finished piece!

And what are these fellows doing here? Well, you will have to come read my blog tomorrow to see how they will be used! I can't tell all my secrets in one post!

Another Postcard In The Making

Using the leftover piece of milk carton paper from yesterday, I folded it in half to make another postcard. This time I glued a piece of baby wipe which had been used when I was working on a painted piece of art, and was nicely stained with colors of paint. After gluing it, I stitched it just to make sure it wouldn't move, since it's textured and it will eventually go around the world. 

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I also used some rubber stamping over the baby wipe

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I briefly considered using some images cut from wallpaper samples....

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.......then looked at some international postage stamps....

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....and chose to go with the stamps, plus an interesting scrap of ribbon.

Next, I put a stencil over it and pushed heavy gel medium through the stencil and am currently waiting for it to dry to continue with the creation. Hopefully, you will see it finished tomorrow!

We've had a rainy day here today and yesterday. A cool front came through with rain, which we really needed. Yesterday morning and this morning, I even had my studio window opened for a few hours, it was so pleasant. Never would have happened in Charleston! I know it will get hot again, after all it is July, but we are enjoying it!

Also, something which is good news is that ampligen, the one drug which showed promise for ME/CFS/FM sufferers is finally back on track for continued testing. It will be a while yet before it becomes available, but the idea that it could help millions of sufferers is very encouraging! If you're interested in reading about it, here's the link.

PS - I notice that I get a lot of people reading my blog, and I would LOVE to have some comments, even if it's just to say "hi"! I feel like I'm speaking into space and nobody's listening. Since I am not able to get out and socialize, it's brings a smile to my face to see your words. Please comment!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Dance My Child

Another journal page, playing with gesso, scraps, acrylic paints, oil pastels, old image, ribbon and Stabilo pencils in a collage. This may or may not be finished, I'm not sure!

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Weather is much more humid today, and I guess that it should be expected - after all we are in the South! I will be glad when the Grackles stop overpowering the bird feeders - I know they are feeding babies, but they are such bullies and take so much! The Bluebird eggs have hatched in the standing birdhouse and they look so helpless. The parents are very protective of them. We have a chipmunk living in the rock pile near the birdhouse and when the chipmunk scampered out, the Bluebird parents started dive bombing the poor thing, even though he is not the least interested in the babies! 

And life goes on!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!