The Joys and Frustration of Melted Wax

I have been working with encaustics (beeswax, damar resin and pigment) for less than a year.  I've completed pieces that literally had me jumping for joy and I also have mounds of wax 'mud' that I've scraped off boards after hours of frustration only to find myself there again, hours later, with another pile of mud...and anxious to try again!

I am so amazed by artists who have such perfect control over their work with encaustics.  I am self taught, or more accurately, I am self-teaching, and it's a struggle.  Books are great but nothing beats watching an accomplished artist manipulate their medium in person.  I'll be keeping my eyes open for a workshop soon.  Until that happens, I'm on my own.

Stormy Weather on Francois Lake

 Armed with a fresh supply of encaustic paints, I finished this painting yesterday for a friend's birthday. 

Serenity

Do you ever just crave peace and order in your life?  No hunting for lost papers or running late for work...lots of time to just play with your art...no frantically trying to produce for a deadline that you knew was coming months ago?  And an effortlessly clean house with no clutter?  I'm working on it.

Have you heard of Flylady?   It's a free site with a whole system for keeping order in your life.  I used it a few years ago but drifted away when we started building our new house.  I loved how well it worked when I did follow so now I'm re-adopting the system to fit my life now.

I just had a gigantic yard sale and what didn't sell I took straight to the recycle at our local waste transfer station so I wouldn't be tempted to re-incorporate it into my life.  Water levels are finally dropping so sandbagging is behind me.

I'm looking forward to a creative summer!

I made these encaustic collage cards on handmade paper last night.  The images are from an old wedding keepsake book that a friend picked up for me at an antique shop.  I use the original paper because I like the patina and the texture which copies don't have.