I attended the Encaustic Conference this past weekend at the Montserrat College of Art in Salem, MA. Above are some of my favorite pieces from the weekend (above right Rodney Thompson's work from the Luminous Landscape show) and the first image (above left is by Miles Conrad who dipped found objects in wax-all together it was like a wall of treasures). I do not believe I have ever met a group of artists so willing to share their process, as well as instruct other artists on how to experiment with a medium. It is a rare occasion when I get the opportunity to learn about new ideas without guessing or happening on it by mistake. I will never call myself only an encaustic artist, however, the medium has so much potential it is hard to deny.
The conference lasted all day Saturday and Sunday. I took classes about building frames, as well as using the correct grounds (bases). I learned about screenprinting onto encaustic and also about direct transfer processes. Lastly, I indulged in the encaustic sculpture lecture by Kim Bernard (her sculpture is above center-pure beeswax) because I think if I were to get my Masters degree, I would end up making sculptures out of wax and wood. But we will have to be patient and buy a barn before that happens.
