FOLLOW THE DOTS

Don't you love thinking about how one thing led you to another thing which led you to another thing and on and on until here you are? Like following the dots of our creative experience that make up the picture that is us? Nothing is wasted!

Shortly after I began shooting in earnest, I discovered alternative Polaroid processes and dove right in. Though the technique became a bit over-used, I still love the fresco-like texture and painterly effect. A few years later, after I had learned to use Photoshop, I scanned my favorites, so even though Polaroid is no longer making instant film, I can use my transfers forever.

Now my passion has turned to photo encaustic, and my eyes are constantly on the prowl for likely candidates. I had made this little booklet of Polaroid transfers as a promotion piece. The pages are interspersed with vellum containing text. Recently I took the book apart, edited and reprinted the title page, then dipped the imaged pages in encaustic and rebound the book. It's a great little table-top piece...I love the tactile quality and the way the light shines softly on the wax. Imagine your photos complemented by some of your favorite quotations, poems, or lyrics.

Very simple, very satisfying. Order my photo encaustic kit and see for yourself.

WAXING NOSTALGIC

(Click for a closeup view.)

Lately I've been scanning old album covers as the basis for new encaustic pieces. Because the covers are wider than my scanner, it takes two passes, then I paste them together in Photoshop. You might want to use this technique using your own favorite albums...of course you could scan CD covers, but I like the worn quality of old albums.

"Performance" is one of my all-time favorite films. Directed by Donald Cammell and Nicholas Roeg and starring Mick Jagger and James Fox, it has a kick-ass sound track featuring not only Mick but Ry Cooder, Randy Newman, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Merry Clayton. The film explores themes espoused by poet Jorge Luis Borges about the nature of identity, duality, and time, and references to Borges are strewn throughout the movie.

This album jacket has great photos of Mick, front and back, in the two personas he displays in the film.  I used pages from a Borges anthology as collage materials to reinforce the connection. 

The term "wax" also applies to record albums.  This is because early phonograph cylinders were made of wax, eventually replaced by vinyl. You still hear records referred to as wax, although less and less frequently.

Altered covers make great wall art for you and yours, but I don't suggest selling them...the original images are undoubtedly copyrighted. This is just about making art for art's sake.  Waxing on wax, so to speak.

You can order my Photo Encaustic Kit here...it's an easy way to get started.

PHOTO ENCAUSTIC DEMYSTIFIED!

I'm very excited to announce that I've launched my Photo Encaustic Kit! What exactly IS photo encaustic, you may ask? Well, encaustic is a beeswax-based medium; wax layers are fused with heat to bond them together. Photo encaustic describes a photographic image fused with hot wax. There are lots of effects possible depending on how you apply the wax, but no matter which method you choose, the wax imparts an alluring luminosity which enriches the photograph.

You may have noticed that there's a Renaissance under foot in the world of photography insofar as mixed media explorations, and photo encaustic is part of that Renaissance. While you may not be able to draw or paint, with photo in hand you can enter the exciting world of mixed media...incorporating wax, pigment, and a wide variety of collage elements and a new lexicon of techniques such as incising, distressing, and transfering.

If you've been curious about photo encaustic but not curious enough to invest in all the materials and supplies that seem to be required, this is the kit for you! It provides an introduction to three simple and pretty much foolproof photo encaustic processes -- dipping, pouring, and brushing -- and includes detailed instructions, materials, and supplies for doing so. Secondary processes of incising, transferring, and layering are also covered.

Just a heads up: The kit does NOT include heating elements...but you may even have them already...an electric skillet, Crock-Pot, or warming tray, and a heat gun (something almost every crafter has on hand).

Click here for more information, examples, and/or to order. (The instruction guide is also available separately...just click on "Kits" in the menu and you'll see it.)