Wax on Wednesdays Tea Bag Collage
A fun week of experimentation on Wax on Wednesdays !
A while back I saw a store that offered "Matte Finish " photos and had some done to see what the quality would be ,and so that I might be able to recommend this to my students as a possible alternative if they did not have access to an inkjet printer .
I learned that there is a big difference between "Matte finish" and genuine Matte Photo paper. Matte photo paper can be acquired fairly inexpensively at Office supply stores and even Target etc. or you can bump up in quality to a cotton rag paper like Hahnemuhle Photo Rag which is a little pricey but my personal favorite . Matte photo paper used in an inkjet printer will absorb the ink down into the paper and absorb the encaustic wax as well. This allows you enormous leeway when working with the photos to build layers, scrape back in , etc. without ruining the photo in the process.
"Matte finish" as described by many photo labs is a process where the ink and finish is still laying on top of the paper as it does in glossy photos, they just aren't quite as glossy. For encaustic using materials that will absorb the wax is always the best choice, so I was a little weary of these !
I decided to try these photos out and see what would happen in a collage. I did not take the chance of using the encaustic as a glue in this case because they did not appear at all to be absorbent to me . I used "Yes" paste to adhere them to my substrate.
Supplies I uses this week:
used tea bags (cleaned and dried )
12x12" cradle board with the sides taped
encaustic medium
white encaustic paint
india ink
vintage ephemera
photo with a 'matte finish"
catalyst blade
heat gun
torch
wood glue
stylus tool
paint stick (burnt umber )
vegetable oil
paper towels
If you would like to see this weeks video directly on the Youtube channel click
There is just one more day to register for the Photo Encaustic Workshop at
Marco's Paper in Dayton Ohio !
Fun full day workshop of exploring encaustic and imagery,
Saturday March 25, 10-4:30
Photo encaustic is the creative practice of altering photos with our hands and encaustic medium instead of using photoshop!
We will be exploring multiple methods of both transferring and adding imagery onto encaustic paintings in exciting, fun ways.
Catered lunch provided ! All supplies are provided !
For details and to register on the White Iris Arts website https://www.whiteirisarts.com/workshops
I will also be teaching a super fun
"Intro to Encaustics Workshop"
downstairs at Essex Studios Cincinnati on April 8 for the Cincinnati Book Arts Society. This is a full day of hands on encaustic exploration Packed full of techniques. This workshop is open to the public and membership is not required . For more information and to register on the Cincinnati Book Art Society Web site at http://cincinnatibookarts.org/?page_id=272
All supplies provided just come explore and have fun !
For a complete updated list of live workshops I will be teaching click on the "workshop page " at the top of the blog.
Blessings to you,
Shari
