Encaustic Sculpture Experiments - In Progress Wax Works by Jaime Lyerly

Three pounds of beeswax in cold pan. "Warm it up, Jaim!" "I'm about to!"

image © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

It has been a busy weekend preparing to teach Encaustic Technique at the San Diego Women's Caucus for Art Retreat this weekend, November 13-15, 2009 at Camp Stevens in Julian, CA.

I admit that I haven't been doing encaustic often within the last month because of my super busy school schedule and the fact that it has been 90+ degrees during the day! But now that it has finally cooled off here in San Diego, I couldn't resist doing some wax experiments even though I was supposed to be preparing medium for the retreat.

Preparing about 7 lbs of encaustic wax medium was one of my goals this weekend. This should have been the final result. Pretty cakes of clear medium cooling. This image was taken when I was making encaustic medium for the Escondido Municipal Gallery Workshop in July 2009.

Making encaustic wax medium, image © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

Saturday started off just fine with me melting 4 lbs of wax in my pan. It seems so good! (We need smell-a-vision screens for this blog post!)

Melting the beeswax to make encaustic medium. image © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

However as it melted, and I added the damar resin to harden it, the urge to USE the wax instead letting it melt overcame me. I thought about all I had been doing recently without my wax. I have been knitting and knotting fabric and rope pieces to be dipped in wax for my Art Actions. I won some fabrics from artist Carolyn Brown Sadowski. I have some vintage books pages that needed to be waxed, and some more books that my friend Starry just gave me. I rationalized that I haven't turned on my wax in a month and that I NEEDED to wax just a few things to get back into the swing of working with wax to teach at the retreat...

It was a lie.

I WANTED to use the wax for myself. So I did.

I ripped up a vintage book and tossed the pages in the beeswax bath. The damar that I put in was melting and sticky. I soaked these papers. I also dipped individual pieces of paper and shaped them. It was fun to experiment and get messy with the wax.

Old book pages in encaustic wax bath. image © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

After experimenting with the paper, I took out the fabric pieces. Dipping materials, especially things like fabric uses A LOT of wax. As I was dipping the fabric pieces, some of them made a sizzling noise. This tells me that there was probably a synthetic material in the fabric that had a lower burning temperature than my wax does. But these are all experiments; so I share my knowledge with you. If it sizzles, it is too hot! You knew that right?

Even though I burns some of the fabrics, they turned out more interesting than I expected after only one trip to the wax bath. They look like leather and I think they are so cool. The images are not the best, but they give you a taste of what they are like. Check them out below.

Untitled Encaustic Sculpture 11.7.09.1, in progress, fabric and wax, © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

Untitled Encaustic Sculpture 11.7.09.1 Detail, in progress, fabric and wax, © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

Untitled Encaustic Sculpture 11.7.09.2, in progress, fabric and wax, © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

Untitled Encaustic Sculpture 11.7.09.2 detail, in progress, fabric and wax, © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

Untitled Encaustic Sculpture 11.7.09.3, in progress, fabric and wax, © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

The last image I only covered partially in wax, which kept some of the original coloring while shaping the piece. I am not in love with these pieces, yet, but I am intrigued enough with them to ask for a second date.

One thing I know about them is that they need a place to hang out and lots more friends! I plan to do more experiments soon, but this time without any guilt of what I SHOULD be doing.

Warning: for all of you ready to start dipping object in wax - it "taints" or "dirties" your wax. The wax that I used for these items was clear refined beeswax. Now it is brownish yellow. Not a big loss, since now it has been labeled "collage wax."

Encaustic wax used for collage and dipping, image © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

After pouring my collage wax into the muffin pans, I cleaned out the pan and put in fresh pounds of beeswax and made some medium. Here they are cooling in their mini muffin pan.

Encaustic medium cooling, image © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

So I ended up making about 3 lbs of encaustic medium for the retreat and will finish making the medium later this week.

I am so excited to teach this weekend! It will be a full house, but I hope each student will get a taste of working in this exciting medium. I never tire about explaining, showing and working in encaustic.

For those of you not coming to the retreat, I will have some pictures up for you to experience it online. Let me know what you want me to post on my blog. I aim to please!

Until then, happy experimenting! Enjoy the journey! ~ Jaime Lyerly