current mood: encaustic

After a day of being especially hard on myself for being "unproductive," I shall now post the results of said unproductivity, some small-ish collages that were really just an excuse to try out a new hot wax technique:



I have been meaning to try encaustic for what feels like years, and have always balked because of my utter lack of know-how. I love the look of it when I see others use it, a semi-transparent waxy coating that blurs what's underneath and makes what's on top look like it's floating.

I didn't quite get that look, but for a first try, these aren't bad.

And it turns out that electric stoves are good for something after all! I put the wax in a tin can and put the burner on simmer. Aside from the kitchen not being a good place to make art, it was a fine set-up.



I used a brush to spread the wax around evenly, and afterwards I didn't like the brush marks, so I took to the surface with my hairdryer. (You think I can wait until I have proper tools like a heat gun? No.) It melted the wax and pushed it around in interesting ways, smoothing it out how I wanted.

I guess it's hard to see in the pictures, though, being as it's clear. Trust me, it's there. It collected all kinds of fuzz and lint from the carpet.

I think next I'll try some smaller pieces and see what happens if I just pour the wax on. Back to the drawing board!

*