EncaustiCamp 2011....

EncaustiCamp 2011 I bow to you :)

It occured to me, just this morning, why after two weeks I haven't been able to come to this blank white spaced blog window and write about EncaustiCamp.
I've tried! I've opened the 'new post' box no less than a dozen times, stared at it in earnest, then gone to a participants blog or an instructors musings and posted them instead....

ECamp 2011 was so above and beyond all my wildest dreams for it. I can't seem to wrap myself around the whole and put the experience into words that service as a nice bundle of thoughts, tied up with a beautiful ribbon and put away in a tight package.

It's not that I don't want to write about it, or that I am ill equipped to do so; I love to put my thoughts and emotions out here to share unabashedly! But with EncaustiCamp it's been different.
And this morning it dawned on me as to why.
I can't look back.
ECamp 2011 carried a weight and measure like nothing else I've ever done or been a part of. I compare it only to giving birth. The crazy, beyond-pain process of bringing new life into the world; only to get through the process and feel so deeply, so passionately, so emphatically filled by the power of love and connectedness that you will do it again; gladly and without apprehension of the still-lingering pain that is required in the bringing-forth process.
That's what it is like.
That's what the whole of EncaustiCamp was like for me.
That big. That amazing. That miraculous.

And I thought I was done at four children :)))

And I can't look back and summarize or compartmentalize what it was and how it felt in any sensical way. I can only let myself be carried on the tide of all of it and continue on to more creating and growing and building.

I think it's how it's meant to be.

When something this big, this substantial, this miraculous is born the thanksgiving, homage and respects-paying to it are best done in the looking forward.

In my case, in the doing it again; only better.

So that is what I do. What I've been doing since returning; actually since finishing the final moment~Looking forward to the next.

There is something bigger than just encaustic in it. There is something bigger than just sharing art. There is something bigger than just connecting and inspiring.
When I try to grasp it, it feels too big, too grandious for this one small human form
...so I pull back.

But, as long as there is this sense-of something so much bigger than 'just'- I will do it again.
As long as there is this inexplicable joy spent, I will do it again.
And as long as there is room for miraculous, yes even in encaustic, I will do it again.
As long as it's in me~
in love. trish
www.encausticamp.com

icon

http://pbsartist.com/icon

i·con
–noun
1. a picture, image, or other representation.
2. Eastern Church . a representation of some sacred personage, as Christ or a saint or angel, painted usually on a wood surface and venerated itself as sacred.
3. a sign or representation that stands for its object by virtue of a resemblance or analogy to it.
OH! How I wish my photography skills-or lack thereof!-did justice to these! They fall so flat here on the PC screen...
But alas, I share just the same.
Definition number three: A sign or representation that stands for its object by virtue of a resemblace or analogy to it. Ahhhhhh. I like that :)
I've tried to achieve the better part of that definition here in this series. And a bit, in the foundation series. More than a circle; more than a mark, a mark made with intention and direction-with the objective of recalling something real and found in the earth to the viewer.
A first for me, truth be told!
I've always worked abstractly; going off route here and there as I went through a journaling series, and as little pieces of a series give voice to some semblance of reality.
But never all that indicitive of realism.
Until now. This definition speaks to me.
I don't want to recreate; God got it right the first time; I feel no need to attempt what's been done so beautifully before me!
I want to indicate, to point to, to take your mind, heart and spirit to, some thing, or place and causes you to sing!
Or, to weep.
Whatever it be, I have sought recognition in this series through the determined look at the definition of icon.
So I introduce you to this latest fun.
My current studio passion.
The analogy of what I see, and want to share with you.
Bringing me to singing~or to weeping, along with you.
because I get to share!
Lucky lucky me :) in love. trish

Australia :)

http://prophet-of-bloom.blogspot.com/2011/07/hot-news.html
Have I mentioned, I'm going to Australia! ???? :)
in love. trish

etsy link!

so i've just jumped onto the etsy bandwagon and I admit to being a junkie! Check out my work, tell me what you think, and please, pass it on! And, it you are a long time etsy user, give me tips to maximize my delight in this venue?! Loving it so far....just to have the work 'out there'! in love. trish
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pbsartist

ArtFest final workshop day! Sooooo good :)

Booked in wax; everyone did a delicious job of creating tasty bound beeswax :)))

ArtFest workshop day 1!

ArtFest: preworkshop walk :)

Taking a stroll from the registration room at Fort Worden down to the lighthouse! Workshop mania begins in the morning! Woot!

Cloth, Paper, Scissors rocks!

What a treat to see my work, product and passion in the CPS blog today! Woot!! http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/blogs/clothpaperscissorstoday/archive/2011/02/23/diver-or-wader-what-s-your-mixed-media-style.aspxFebruary 23, 2011
What’s Your Approach to the New?

How do you approach a new (or new-to-you) art medium? Do you wade in slowly, reading up on everything there is to know, researching the tools on the Internet, maybe taking a workshop?

Or do you just grab the basic supplies and dive in, learning as you go and buying specialized materials as needed?

There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, and many people probably fall somewhere in between.

I have to say I fall into the latter category. I'd like to say it's because I'm spontaneous and free-spirited, but the word that actually describes my approach is “impatient.”

I see a shiny new colorant or a twist on an old technique, and I want to make art with it NOW. So what if I don't have all the supplies or actually know what I'm doing...I'll make do.

Such was the case a couple of weeks ago when I decided to try my hand at encaustic (hot wax) collage. I got a notion to try it, cobbled together the other necessary supplies, had some success, and now I'm addicted.

Now is when I want to get my hands on all the “correct” supplies and learn more than the very basics.

Research. So I've been doing some research. Not only did I re-view (again and again) Amy Stoner's “Encaustic Collage” Workshop™ video, but I got my hands on a copy of Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch's book Encaustic Workshop: Artistic Techniques for Workin g with Wax.

Patricia's book is comprehensive, with information on the basic tools and techniques, mixed-media variations, and how to assemble and display your artwork. She also wrote a terrific article in the January/February 2010 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. Between those two sources, I am now well-versed in the basics and beyond.

Wax. There is beeswax and there is encaustic medium. Beeswax comes in refined and natural. The main difference is that the refined variety produces a clear finish while natural beeswax has that warm, honeyed look. It's really a matter of preference.

Encaustic medium is beeswax combined with damar resin. The resin hardens the wax, raises the meltin g temperature, and prevents bloom (turning white).

Application. You can brush on the wax, in which case you'll need a natural bristle brush as synthetic bristles will melt. You can pour wax over your collage or dip pieces in it. Or, you can paint with it, using clear or pigmented wax and a stylus.

Pat Gaignat wrote an excellent tutorial on using a stylus with encaustic collage in the November/December 2009 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. Using a stylus allows you to pick up wax and drip it or draw with it, which sounds like a fun option to me.

So far, my preference is for using encaustic medium and a brush, so I plan to stock up on the medium this week during the 15% off sale in the Interweave Store. But I can't wait to try out all my options.

So, which method do you prefer: jumping into the deep end or wading in slowly and carefully? Something in between? Everybody into the pool (aka Cloth Paper Scissors Today blog Comments section) for a discussion!

Cate Prato, Online Editor
Cloth Paper Scissors Today

sitka collections 6

congruent in the eyes of heaven series






in love. trish

sitka collections 5

vine and branches series





in love.trish