A few weeks ago my daughter and I visited Catherine Keebler's studio in Chicago's Fine Arts building and got a crash course in basic encaustic mono-print-making. Catherine is a fine artist with a focus on encaustic techniques, which involve painting with wax and pigment. Click here for a FUSEDChicago Spotlight interview with her. Here are a just a few of her images of her work, be sure to check out Catherine's on-line gallery. for more!
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| Cell 1; Hollytex and Asian paper |
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| Synapse #1 |
There are a variety of techniques used in applying the color and wax, but her technique is more of a mono-print making process and I have to say, rather addictive! We had a lot of fun and I'm now trying to find a way to set something basic up in my own studio!
Her palette is a heated anodized aluminum plate (below), to which the pigmented wax (above) is directly applied. The plate heats to around 200 degrees for a good consistency. Kelley adding the pigment sticks (below) to the heated plate. Rubber tools and scrapers can be used to create patterns and move the wax around. Sometimes called 'color shapers' these are tools used for clay sculpture as well as paste-paper painting. More color can be added at any time, since it stays melted while on the plate.
Once the design is set, a sheet of paper is laid right on top of the wax which quickly absorbs the design. A bamboo brayer wrapped with aluminum foil (below) is used to make sure the image fully transfers to the paper. Once the paper is lifted off the plate it cools and is dry almost immediately. The clean up process is also quite simple. A few sprinkles of beeswax or soy pellets are dropped onto the plate and wiped around with a rag to remove the wax/pigment residue. We experimented with a variety of papers, from a very transparent synthetic paper called Hollytex, (resembles dryer sheets), to Asian papers and every day, inexpensive inter-leafing paper. Thinner papers work best. You can add more color by laying the paper back on the plate but you have to be careful to do it quickly, lest you melt and lose your whole original design. Among many other things, you can use inks or Akula Color water based litho inks for a preliminary drawing under the wax technique without being disturbed, thus adding layers to the work. There are a LOT of possibilities not mentioned here!
Below are some of the other things my daughter tried. I think they turned out great and we'll do this again! If you are interested in encaustic techniques, here are a few other inks to resources:
FUSEDChicago, an encaustic artists group who are also offers classes and workshops in the Chicago area.
R & F Handmade Paints which offers supplies and is a great resource for instruction and help.
Paula Roland is an amazing encaustic artist who teaches and offers instructional resources as well
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| First pull |
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| Second pull (more wax was still on the plate) with extra pigment added on top |
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| Created on a smaller plate to define edges |
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| My favorite. Although it was created as a vertical design, in the end, when turned horizontally, a figure appears on the left that seems to be dancing with streamers! Happy surprises! |
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