Encaustics

I spent the day today making four pieces of art in encaustics, which is mixture of molten wax, resin, and pigment. I used it as a collage medium in this piece.

The images are antique, from an old book, and advertising card, an old bingo card, an old hand written poem, and an illustration. Most are pre 1900.....they are held together with layers of wax and resin, the edges worked in gold encaustic paint.

It is a tricky medium to work with, but fun. The artwork still smells of beeswax, and periodically I buff it with a soft cloth to bring it to a shine. It takes a few months for the wax to cure, after which it will hold the shine from the resin for a long period of time. In the meantime, I take a cloth to it now and then.

I have to figure out how to frame/present this. I will look to see if any of my cigar boxes will work...if there is no varnish I can coat the box in encaustic, and mount the piece inside.

Tomorrow another piece, treated in a slightly different way.

Till then! Patti