Monday, June 18, 2012

The Chicks Encaustic Workshop


A few weeks ago, Kim, Jennifer and I took an encaustic workshop with Sherri Rae Broyles in Sandy Spring.  It was great to try and experiment with a new medium.  We learned that this requires an entirely different tool set – ventilation mask, masonite or wood cradle boards, plain wax, parafin (to clean brushes), demar (hardener), blow torch or heat gun.  To color the wax, you can use oil pastels, R & F Pigment sticks, oil sticks or oil paints.  You mix these in individual tins.  The great thing is that you can save the tins of color for another time.  You heat the tins on a big griddle.  The goal is to keep the colored wax at 180 degrees since wax gets toxic around 220 degrees.  The first step is to brush several clear coats on the board to achieve a smooth surface.  Then it is time to start layering, photo transferring, embedding, carving and more layering.  The more porous the materials you use the better.  Once you have completed the piece, you can use demar as a top coat.  It was a fun medium to learn although we just "scratched" the surface.  Thanks to Jennifer for organizing.
Lorra Kurtz

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