Cryptic Encaustics with Linda Lenart McNulty: Encaustic Jewelry Making DeMystified

In just a few weeks, Linda Lenart McNulty will be teaching some amazing encaustic workshops at Art & Soul Portland.  One of which is Wearable Encaustic Shrines where she will show you how to create beautiful, wearable works of art like these...

I mean... seriously... are these gorgeous or what? And just to get you excited about what she has to offer, Linda has graciously allowed us to share a bit of her encaustic techniques right here on our blog! So... take it away, Linda....

Greetings fellow artists!

I’m Linda Lenart McNulty, the artist/owner of Luminous Encaustics (luminousencaustics.com), and I want to share an technique I created called “Cryptic Encaustics”.

Encaustic art involves the painting and pouring of warm, pigmented beeswax and tree sap, which is then layered and scraped, revealing its naturally luminous and transparent nature. Encaustic Painting is transformed into a wearable form in my work and classes. If you’re not familiar with encaustic art or with encaustic jewelry, take a look at this Step-Out below.

P.S. I’ll be teaching at Art & Soul in Portland in a couple weeks so come take a workshop or come introduce yourself to me at the Luminous Encaustics Table on Vendor’s Night for more encaustic surprises (I’ll have encaustic jewelry kits too!)! See you there!

~Linda

Luminous Encaustics Cryptic Encaustics Jewelry Kit      

Cryptic Encaustics…Opening the Kit       

Cryptic Encaustics…Lots of Goodies…       

Melt one of the Luminous Encaustic Wax Blox. I like to choose the lightest color to start.

Warm one of the Bezels.         

Pour the warm encaustic wax into the warm bezel, up to the top but not overflowing.

Pour off the extra wax to save it. Aluminum or Silicone are good choices.

Melt your next Wax Blox right on the griddle.         

Warm your brush on the griddle and begin coating your first layer with your next color.

Fuse the two encaustic layers together. Fuse with a micro torch, embossing heat gun, or large heat gun. When the wax looks transparent it is fused so move along.

Wipe your griddle to remove any excess color. I left a little to mix into my new color.

Melt your third color choice right on the griddle. I use the two mid-range colors for my middle layers, saving the darkest color for last.

Paint as much as you like onto your piece and fuse.       

Lightly warm your stamp on the griddle after wiping it clean.   

Rub a little olive oil on the stamp (the side with the grooves).  

Press firmly into the wax.           

You really want to dig the stamp into the wax. I like to make the wax displace itself off to the sides. This adds for interest and mystique later.

Lift off the stamp.        

Use other mark making objects around the house. Metal and wood work the best…

Warm them on the griddle!         

Oil the tool and press deeply to displace the wax.          

Oil and press…..       

Oil and press…..       

Oil and press……      

Melt your darkest color Wax Blox on the griddle.       

Load your brush with color and really get it into the crevices.        

After a while, switch colors for interest….        

Continue loading and painting into the crevices.         

Fuse this lumpy mess!        

Now to cool the wax so you can scrape. Let it rest at room temperature a while, then try dunking it into a cold glass of water or the fridge (if you are impatient like me!)

Scraping is the most fun, Now you get to see what you’ve made! Leave dark areas for mystique but scrape a few areas down to that first pale color.

Warm your tools and wipe with a paper towel to clean them.    

For a little more intrigue, rub some oil on the surface of the finished piece, then rub oil paint onto select areas. If you change your mind, it will rub right off because of the oil. I mixed veridian and ultramarine with black. Fuse lightly to lock the oil paint in place.

I added a little ribbon and wire on jump rings (go to the Wearable Shrine Directions for instructions). Cryptic Encaustics!

Cryptic Encaustics – by Luminous Encaustics (and now by you!!) 

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Well... thanks so much Linda, for sharing this comprehensive and delightfully creative step-by-step tutorial! We're so excited to have you at our Portland Art & Soul event this year... 

Linda Lenart McNulty 

Portland Art & Soul 

Wearable Encaustic Shrines - Thursday, April 10, 2014 

Encaustic Daguerreotype Paintings - Friday, April 11, 2014 

Luminous Layering in Encaustic Painting - Saturday, April 12, 2014 

So check out her classes and the entire Portland event on our website ArtAndSoulRetreat.com! 

Springtime is in the... Mail?

Springtime is a great time to learn something new... like Mail Art with Jennie Hinchcliff! We're so happy to welcome her to the Art & Soul family, as she'll be teaching two workshops at our Portland event this year! As a “near-native” of San Francisco, Jennie has been teaching classes in bookbinding and related arts since 2001. Her work often incorporates one-of-a-kind elements such as found typography or handwritten correspondence, harkening back to the spirit of Dada artists and writers.

Jennie's personal work can be seen in several books, and she is a co-author of "Good Mail Day", which explores mail art and correspondence in its' many styles and formats. Her blog "Every Day Should Be A Red Letter Day" promotes the idea that letter writing can be done anytime, anyplace, anywhere by anybody.

So here's Jennie to tell us a little bit about herself, her classes, and get you excited...

someday, I’ll live here…

March: in like a lion, out like a lamb! In my case, it’s actually the other way around, with things busier than ever. My calendar is quickly is filling up with neon pink pen marks and cutie Japanese place markers – sure signs that good things are on the horizon.

well of course — mail art!

I’m already looking forward to April: not only is it my birthday month (Aries people, REPRESENT!) but the weeks will be filled with multiple teaching gigs. Starting the whole thing off, I’ll be in Portland, Oregon for the Art and Soul Retreat. If you’ve ever wondered when I’d be workshopping in the great Pacific Northwest, now’s your chance to come and play!

“the yes men”, made for cascadia art post…

I’ll be teaching on April 12^th (Saturday) and April 13^th  (Sunday); Saturday’s “Hidden Surprises” carousel book class promises to be filled with TONS of creativity, rubber stamping, and book arts brainstorming!




And then on Sunday, I’m at it again, schooling students in the ways of mail art mayhem…

a little bit of outgoing mail…

…which means MAKING and SENDING! Through a series of individual and group projects, students will learn about mail art practices, as well as gain inspiration from others in the class.

there’s that mailman rubber stamp again!

We’ll spend part of the session creating faux postage (a.k.a “artistamps”) using a variety of techniques. Students end the day with sheets of artistamps they have created, ideas for future mail art projects, and the know-how to get involved in “the Eternal Network”.

working small…

After that, I’ll spend a couple days with friends and family in Portland (Powell’s Bookstore: LOOK OUT!) and then it’s back to San Francisco. My travel time to Portland is short, but I’m always on the lookout for fantastic new places to go. What do YOU suggest? SCRAP, Collage PDX, and the IPRC are all longtime faves, but I have a hunch that there are things I have yet to discover in Portland’s neighborhoods – let me know what cannot be missed!

discovered last year, in corvallis…

Also: Red Letter Day readers may notice that I’ve made a small change to the layout of the RLD blog. To the right, I’ve added a column for “Classes & Sightings”, so that RLD readers can see upcoming workshops and Co-op meetings at a glance. If you’re looking for detailed info about any of the posted items, visit the “Classes & Sightings” page of the RLD blog – venues, registration info, and descriptions will be posted for your perusal.

the act of creating — what fun!

That’s a lot of exciting info for a Tuesday! If you register for a class at Art and Soul, be sure to post a comment and let me know – it may turn out that there’s a little surprise waiting for you in the classroom!

In all things postal,
 ~Jennie

Mark Your Calendars!

Well, folks... we're on the heels of two spectacular Art & Soul events... our Kansas City retreat (in mere days!) and our Portland venue (April 7-14). So what better time to let you know about Art & Soul's 2015 event dates! Mark your calendars and start dreaming up what types of classes you'd like to take!

Here we go!!! Art & Soul dates for 2015...

Portland, OR

Sheraton Airport Hotel

March 2-8, 2015

Kansas City, MO
Elms Resort & Spa
April 27 - May 1, 2015

Virginia Beach, VA

Virginia Beach Resort Hotel

October 5-11, 2015

And, if you are an instructor of the mixed-media kind and would like to teach at our retreats, send us your workshop proposals! We welcome classes in all kinds of creative areas such as... collage, assemblage, jewelry, bookmaking, art dolls, fabric creations, painting, sculpting, printmaking... you name it! So send us your ideas. Portland proposals are due by March 31, 2014 and Virginia Beach proposals are due by June 15, 2014.

Can't wait for another exciting year with all of you!

Hugs,
Glenny

Weaving a Story with Donna Crispin...

Sometimes a story is woven right into a piece of art. A story of creativity. A story of artistry. A story of history. A story of inspiration. Receiving inspiration and weaving materials from the natural world, Donna Crispin has been creating baskets since 1986. She has lived in some of the most beautiful places of the western US, where she has seen and experienced the lessons of the earth. Although she is now living in an urban area, her pieces often reveal the spiritual and physical connection she has developed over decades of time.

We are delighted to have a guest post from Donna today, who will be teaching at our Portland, Oregon Art & Soul... coming up very soon! She is going to share with us a little bit about her longtime passion. So... take it away, Donna...

Basketry and fiber arts have been my passion for over 27 years now. Since my focus is on basket weaving, I'm also interested in other cultures, and how people have used plants to make baskets, textiles, paper, and more. I'm always learning techniques and finding new plants to weave with. Last spring, I was introduced to basswood fiber by a farmer in a nearby town, and later found out that it is also spun and woven to make a traditional Japanese textile, called shina-fu. So I feel like I'm on a constant learning adventure.

My newest interest is Japanese paper yarn and cord making, or shifu and koyori.  Washi paper is cut into a continuous strip, sometimes 2mm wide, then roughened up a bit, and spun.

I recently found a photo of a lovely old kimono with a repeating circular pattern. 

 

I decided to make some woven slippers with a similar design.  I purchased some Thai unryu paper, and painted my own circles on several sheets.

 

I cut the paper into a 1/2" continuous strip and spun it into cords to weave.

 

Then I constructed the soles, added the warp (vertical weaving elements), and wove two little shoes.

I hope that you will step out of your comfort zone at Art & Soul Retreat in Portland, OR, and join me as we explore weaving with seagrass and other plants in my Saturday workshop, or learn paper weaving with me in my Sunday class... 

Donna Crispin

Art & Soul Portland, Oregon

Saturday, April 12, 2014

The New Seagrass Basket 

    

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Spinning for Weaving, Basketry, Knitting, and other Fiber Arts  

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Wow, Donna... that was simply amazing! What a creative transformation of materials. I can see why there's only a few spots left in a couple of your classes. If you'd like more information about Donna's classes, simply click on the links above. And if you'd like to follow Donna's adventures, you can head on over to her Facebook Page and follow her there.