Darn it. I have finally decided to write a blog. I have resisted the impulse for a long time thinking that it could be a real waste of time. Maybe it is. However, every day that I invite people into my studio, I come to understand more and more that people do not want to be at arms length with artwork. They want to know how you made it, what materials you used and sometimes even why. They pepper me with questions about the process. They are always curious and mostly pretty real. And more often than not, they are fascinated that someone would actually make a career of making the stuff. They tell me they would love to "make art" but ....
Inviting people into my studio keeps me grounded.
I have had a long career in ceramics (and somehow can't quite give it up), and I have further amused myself with oil painting. But now I paint in encaustics. Several artist I know ...ceramic artists that is, have also taken to the wax. Why wax? I don't really know except to say that there is this fascination with surface, with making the surface textured, smooth, glossy, scratched, scraffitoed, glazed, with colors layered and melding. Rich, saturated color, pale translucent glazes.
And then there is process: Some artists are nuts for process. Ceramic artist scan discuss glaze formulas endlessly, can speak for hours of the merits of porcelain vs earthenware, of cone 06 vs 6, can swoon over the possibilities of new surfaces, new forms, new images. Ceramic artists need the constant challenge of the clay and the mystery and hope of the fire.
"How was your firing?. Only another ceramic artist knows the reality of THAT question. So much can go wrong. Especially when one pushes that cone envelope. The serendipity of the fire. The will of the kiln god. We bow to you.
So, again, why encaustic? Really, there is nothing like it. Seriously. It is difficult. It is obstinate. It is a challenge. Every day. It is seductive in its promise of surface and translucency, of opacity and strong color, of a texture that will either be impossible to eliminate or impossible to achieve. It can deliver that smooth elusive depth and it can deliver in your face texture. It needs to be fused or it will get up and leave. It drops on your foot and burns. It brings out the profanity in one. It is hot wax for heaven sake! Painting with liquid hot wax! It smells lovely. And at the very least I don't have to fire it.
Encaustic... more next time
