Encaustics
The encaustic medium is both vibrant and versatile: it can be built up into a three dimensional surface or it can be smoothed out to a lustrous, glossy finish. It is a richly immersive medium you can smell as well as touch: the warm earthy smell of the beeswax, it’s varied textures and depth of color draw you into its compelling physicality. Its unique tactile qualities and malleable nature make for a distinct sensory experience, both in the creation of the work and in the appreciation of it. The medium goes through multiple phase transitions through the heated application process as I’m working with it, from a solid to a liquid and even a vapor, then eventually back to a solid. The process is a literal demonstration of the beauty inherent in the chaos that surface phenomena bring about in their entropic forms and patterns. But I find it’s also a metaphor for phase changes in our emotional states and how we flow between one state to another. It’s this physical representation of thought and emotion implicit within the properties of this medium that makes working with it such a fascinating process.
