Drip, pour, drag, layer, heat, and incise! Investigate the art of encaustic painting in this very hands-on 2-day workshop using pigmented wax, and a heated palette! Explore a rich variety of marks and surfaces while learning additive and subtractive approaches in this seductive medium. You can even take your flat collections of drawings, collected papers, and pictures to explore collage within wax and incorporate found objects. Class time will be divided between demonstrations, individual work time, and discussion about historical and contemporary practices. We will also touch on proper studio ventilation, wax safety, and how to “finish” artworks in terms of framing and care. Students will leave with multiple finished pieces and the understanding of proper studio set-up. This class is perfect for a newbie to encaustic painting or someone who wants to revisit process and practice!

 

Starter panels will be provided by the instructor, but students are expected to bring their own panels for finished works or developed drafts. Upon registration, you will receive further details about panel choices, along with a list of additional materials that you are invited to bring to the course.

 

About the Instructor Hélène Farrar is an artist and painter primarily working in the ancient medium of encaustic. Hélène has taught and worked in the visual arts for over twenty years while actively exhibiting in commercial and nonprofit galleries and museums across Maine and New England, New York City, Italy, and England. The content of her work originates in storytelling, introspection and place. Through bold color and texture, her works are luminous, exhibit beauty, and invite response. In the last few years, her works have been accepted into prestigious institutions across New England. Hélène currently runs a private art school in Manchester, Maine, out of her “Farmhouse” studio, where she holds varied weekly classes for children and adults. She has also taught specific art programs across the state as a teaching artist in schools. Hélène has taught multiple courses at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and the International Encaustics Conference, and is a teaching artist for the Farnsworth Art Museum.

Banner artwork: “Daisies”, encaustic on panel by Hélène Farrar.