The Encaustic Studio- A Blog Tour

Art is a lifelong journey with many detours along the way, but we can learn from the guideposts of others’ experiences. -Daniella Woolf

I am thrilled to have been asked to participate in this blog hop to share Daniella Woolf’s new book The Encaustic Studio because a) I’ve admired her work for several years now and b) I am a sucker for books. Be sure to visit her website as her work is intriguing, intelligent, and well, just beautiful to look at.

The book is well organized and the directions are very easy to follow. And it comes with a DVD- so not only can you read about the techniques you can see her do it too, which is great for people who actually need to see it in action as opposed to reading about it. I am definitely one of those people.

For those of you who are beginners or just starting to get interested in painting in encaustic, you are fortunate as there are so many resources out there now to gather information. When I first began experimenting with encaustic there was only one book out there and I don’t even think YouTube existed back then with all the tutorials! Should I put on my grandpa cap now and start talking about how tough things were back in the day?! The funny thing is that my encaustic journey is young compared to so many others, but the magic of the internet speeds everything up nowadays. So much I learned through my own journey of mistakes and discoveries. Reading through Daniella’s book there were a couple of times she would give a tip and I thought to myself “Yep, I remember making that mistake.” Or “that would have been good to know back then.”

Even if you’re not a beginner, Daniella covers many mixed media techniques that are great to add to your repertoire. For example, I had never worked with India ink with encaustic before. I saw Shawna Moore’s beautiful gestural lines created with india ink atop her wax surface, but I’ve never done it myself. Well, in the book there is a section all about bringing India ink into an encaustic studio and I decided that I needed to dive in and try it.


within_inside-1
the inside cover and first page of a handbound book

…mmmm, I’m definitely hooked on the India ink + encaustic combo….

Recently in my studio time, I’ve been working on filling in a handbound book that has encaustic covers and decided to take the opportunity to experiment a bit within the pages. I actually followed Daniella’s instructions with using a rubber stamp + India ink to make a pattern….but I just loved the way that the ink would smear into the wax surface… that I just kind of went with it and covered the pattern I had made. And then, of couse, you can scratch through the ink surface. I did some line work, but I also scratched in these words:

There is a wilderness inside of me that echoes.


wilderness_inside-2
the second spread

On the right hand side I also experimented with her technique of overlapping strips of paper. I used two images of tall, wild grass- one in black and white, the other color. Then I painted over them. Did a transfer, scratched in the words: “Do you hear the empty?” and it could have been done….but I couldn’t help myself and I added some India ink.


wilderness_inside-3
third spread, encaustic, inkjet print, pigment stick, India ink

Anyway, I had fun with India ink as well as reading Daniella’s book and watching her DVD. What I really, really loved though was the third chapter of her book called “Studio Practice + Creativity”- such wise words. She writes about her journal practice which is essential to her studio practice as well as giving yourself parameters. I feel the same way. This chapter is a gem, don’t skip over it.

Cloth Paper Scissors is hosting this weekend long blog hop. Below are the other participants in this celebration of Encaustic Studio.
(1) Be sure to visit everyone. I am looking forward to hearing what other people thought of the book.
(2) Then go visit the Cloth Paper Scissors blog and
(3) Leave a comment for a chance to win some great prizes.

Daniella Woolf

Bianca Mandity

Dea Fischer

Jane Davies

Jodi Ohl

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Suze Weinberg

24 Comments

  1. Good post Bridgette – interesting how these things start popping up, I’ve been adding India ink to my encaustic work over the past year as an experiment – now I need to look to see how others are doing it and whether there are tips I need to know about applying it!

  2. I was thinking I didn’t need yet another Encaustic book, but the india ink thing has me really intrigued. I love the examples you have in this post!

  3. I think encaustic is so intriguing to me but a little heavy on the supplies. Nevertheless I would love to learn more, and this book might be a good way to bridge the gap!

  4. Any and all of Daniella’s books/DVDs have been on my “wish list”. This one may end up as a purchase in the near future. I am intrigued with the use of India ink. On one of my very first pieces I colored beeswax with alcohol ink and really liked the results. Thanks for posting the review, Bridgette.

  5. I’ve got this book and want to thank Daniella for being so generous with her techniques- wow, amazing. A natural teacher, everything is clear and she shares solutions for things that were problems for her. No other encaustic books holds a flame (lol) to this one. So good to have the dvd to watch too. Love your responses to the indian ink Bridgette – yummy textures.

  6. I have never worked in encaustic and think I would like to try it. I am glad to have the opportunity to win a prize. Reading your review makes me want to try it even more! Thanks for showing examples of your work along with the review.

  7. The combination of ink and wax in your examples has me really interested in trying this. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of the book. Marianne

  8. Well I will strap on that grandpa hat and say, “cause in my day, I don’t remember ever doing such fun things”. I have only dabbled once in encaustics, and did not do a lot, but had a great time with what little I did. I was just telling my friend the other day that I would love to play with wax, and I have the perfect spot in my carport to set it up. Plenty of fresh air for the fumes, and completely covered for the rain. (no snow here in South Fla!.) Thank you for the chance to win this book or any of the great prizes.

  9. thank you for this…i really like what you’ve done in your book. i wonder what size it is, and how the encaustic would hold up on large pages…

  10. The pages of your book look extraordinary. Having seen your work before, I know how textured these must be in person. I have promised myself that one day I will look into learning encaustics. Maybe this book will be my start???

  11. I have been paiting for a lot of years and just getting started in encaustics. I always used India Ink as part of my acrylic work and wondered how to incorporate that with a wax medium. Sounds like I have to get the book. I had some Speedball Super Black India Ink. I left the lid loose and the ink set up like jello. Looked it up and the ink has shellac in it. Bet it would work well and incorporate with a wax medium.

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