Gearing Up for Encaustic

It's been too long since I've taken any studio art classes. All my focus has been on developing my print and pattern designs (see my progress at my new website.) But next week I'm taking a class on Encaustic with Caryl St. Ama at Glendale Community College sponsored by R & F Handmade Paints.




The word ‘encaustic’ comes from the Greek word enkaiein, meaning to burn in. Encaustic paint is wax-based using beeswax, resin and pigment. It's kept in a liquid state on a heated palette. After it's applied to an absorbent surface it's reheated so that the paint fuses (hence the use of the Greek word.) Not to be confused with the term ‘caustic,’ which refers to a corrosive chemical reaction - not at all what happens with encaustic.

Caryl St. Ama, "Home Turf", Encaustic and photo transfer on wood panel, 12" x 9", 2014

Caryl's work is inspiring me to gather bits of textiles and paper to embed in the wax. I'm really interested in the concept of using textiles to create art that I can then turn into textile prints.

TEXTILE>ART>TEXTILE

Maybe then I'll use the printed textile in a new encaustic. Sort of like looking at a mirror with a mirror, goes on forever.

My next challenge is to come up with new materials. Fortunately the paints are included in the cost of the workshop, so the most important thing I'll need are the supports. For this class I think I'll try a few different sizes and thicknesses to see what I like best (linking to the Amazon page so I can find them again...)

Ampersand Art Encausticbord - Cradled - 1.5" Profile - 12"x12"

Ampersand Encausticbord 11 in. x 14 in. 1 1/2 in. each

I'll also need natural bristle brushes, and don't want to ruin any good ones, so think I'll try Loew-Cornell 2-Inch Wood Handle Natural Bristle Gesso Brush or maybe this set of three Royal & Langnickel Large Area Artist Brush Set- Three Brown Camel Hair Brushes which would give me 1", 2" and 3".

That should get me started.....

Collaged Photo Display Box

As usual, I was stumped on the thought of a Christmas gift for my mom. Let's face it, when you get to a certain age you pretty much have every object you want, need or desire. I figured I could somehow use the photos I had from our summer travels. Having done endless photo albums, calendars, mouse pads etc. etc. etc., I wanted to find something new to do.

In the days before digital cameras, when you took a roll of film to the drive-thru photo processing shop, Mom always had a bowl on the coffee table where she'd toss all the photos. It was an un-edited, un-retouched, un-Photoshoped collection of life as it had happened. With that in mind, I decided to gather up all the ephemera I'd collected from our trip and collage it onto a box that I'd fill with photos. I did have to pick and choose the photos. By the time everyone added their pictures to the Flickr page there were over 3000. I cut back to 180, which fit nicely into the box I found.

Finished Photo Collage Box

I started out with an appropriately sized box that I found on Amazon:

 

I put a thin coat of gesso onto the outside of the box. (In retrospect, I would have painted the inside of the box black at this point. I think it would have been easier than doing it at the end.) I was really happy with the quality of the box. I didn't need to do any sanding either before or after the gesso coat. I used my standard go to cheap gesso -  Windsor & Newton Acrylic White Gesso. 

Box after priming with gesso

I decided to cover the whole box in maps to have a uniform background to glue all the little bits and pieces I'd collected on our travels. I used a map of Prague for the top, and Berlin for the bottom. This gave me a sort of "neutral" ground to work on and provided continuity. If I weren't such a pack rat, and hadn't collected such a large pile of ephemera I could have stopped here and been quite happy. I picked sections of the maps that had the location of where we stayed and the neighborhoods where we spent the most time. I used Mod Podge to glue it down. I didn't do a coat over the top of the maps - just used the Mod Podge like glue. (Acrylic gel would work fine as well, but it's more expensive, so I usually keep Mod Podge around for these crafty projects.)

Maps

Then I gathered my bits and pieces together and started to sort through them. I picked bits from our favorite restaurants, museums and gallery exhibits and added in train tickets and menu images. Obviously, I carry a big bag when I travel and constantly stuff it with the throwaways that cross my path. Anything that has any sort of interesting imagery I keep. (Like the sheet from the Czech Mucha postage stamps.)

travel ephemera

I cut everything up, glued it down and using a watered down acrylic painted little house symbols on the map to show where we stayed.

work in progress

back of the collaged box

one side of the box - Prague memorabilia on top, Berlin on the bottom

box with photos inside

side of the box

top of the box - memories of Prague

1952 Vintage Hankie

Looking through my bins of random fabric bits and pieces I came across this delightful little hankie that had belonged to my grandmother. I immediately posted it for sale on Ebay, not thinking much about it until I looked at it closely as I was folding it up for packaging.

1952 Calendar Hankie

At first I didn't think too much of it, but as I looked more closely it has some wonderful little designs.

1952 Hankie, detail of January through March

There are little graphics on holidays - like a champagne glass on New Year's. The Easter Bunny looks like he might be fleeing something.

1952 Hankie, detail of April through June

Around each month are illustrations that call back to the simpler times of 1952. The wedding illustrations for June shows a car with cans tied to the back heading to Niagara Falls. No pricey destination weddings involving families traveling en masse to St. Bart's back then! Flag day is noted as a holiday. Do we even celebrate that anymore? And Father's Day has a pipe. Definitely not how we think of Dad's today!

1952 Hankie, detail of July through September

The summer months feature the firecracker for the 4th of July, a mom and her child enjoying the beach and back to school at "State". Not quite certain what the symbol is for Labor Day. 

1952 Hankie, detail of October through December

Holidays show Christopler Columbus' ship; a bat for Halloween; a turkey for Thanksgiving; what looks like maybe a plane for Veteran's Day (on a Tuesday - since this was before the days of 3 day weekend holidays); and a tree for Christmas. A pilgrim proudly displays the turkey he's shot as his wife runs joyfully toward him. And Santa is pulling a tree on a sled in addition to a bag of gifts. When did Santa stop bringing trees?

I'm so delighted with this hankie I'm regretting putting it up on Ebay (click on the Ebay link if you want to see it). Oh well, I'm sure whoever buys it will enjoy it as much as I have.  Maybe I'll try to reprint it at Spoonflower.

Freeform Crochet Tutorials & Books

Photo from Sylvia Cosh::James Walters Crochet

Sylvia Cosh & James Walters have what I think is the most comprehensive selection of downloadable worksheets on Freeform Crochet Techniques. They've got downloads with both "English" and "American" translations of crochet terminology for each worksheet. The last sheet was posted in 2007, so it looks like this is they'll be posting. Reading through the list , it sounds like the syllabus for a complete course in Freeform Crochet.

1: Choosing Yarn & Hook
2: Terms/Abbreviations/Symbols
3: Crochet Stitch Reference – the Basics
4: Colour and the Colour 'Wheel'
5: Grey, Stone, Brown, Beige, Ochre & 'Natural' Colours
6: Colour Schemes
7: 'Scrumbling'
8: 'Crochet Circles' Fabric
9: Organic Crochet Patchwork
10: Spiral Scrumble
11: Square Scrumbling
12: 'Bosnian' Scrumbling
13: Bosnian Crochet – Neckpurse (simple project)
14: 'Tunisian/Afghan' Scrumbling
15: Openwork Scrumbling
16: Raised Square & Roundels (stitch patterns)
17: Raised Flower Hexagon & 'Lazy Wheel' (stitch patterns)
18: Intermeshing – Double Filet Basics
19: Intermeshing – Double Filet Neckpurse (simple project)
20: Spinnerama (Solomon's Knot Hanging Fabric)
21: Tote Bag Project
22: Simple Rounds and Spirals
23: Keeping Edges Straight
24: 'Flying' Stitches I'm a huge fan of James Walters & Sylvia Cosh through which I've collected over the years. I'd say "The Crochet Workbook" is the book I turn to the most when starting a freeform project. I wasn't able to find it at any local bookstores, but of course Amazon's got it.

The Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap

I joined! I've stitched my card and it's in the press getting nice and flat. The theme is "Celebrate" and my card celebrates the postcards I've received from all over the world, and the circuitous paths they've traveled.

Stitched Postage Postcard


And the postcard I received, from Stephanie Campbell of Leeds, UK.

"Celebrate" Postcard from Stephanie Campbell