Septiens

This piece is a simple encaustic fill collage. I was inspired by a metal "7" piece I had and a poem I found, "Seven" by Mr. Ed on Author's Den. Most of the poem is written and placed as the background.

"Septiens", adverb form of "seven" in Latin, is stamped onto a thin metal piece and filled with black paint.

It's been a while since I've wrapped things. I love the way wire and string look. So this piece is also wrapped in a thin copper wire.

Into the Rabbit Hole Show

Image from Facebook Album of Brandy Nava which can be found here.

This past Friday was my first showing at The East Room in Nashville. This piece, Wonderland Reality was on display along with many other wonderful works by Nashville-area artists. Two shows down, more to come (hopefully). ^_^

Balance

Another piece in my ever-growing Circus collection. This is a 3D encaustic collage with plastic toys, wooden blocks, encaustic fill, and background illustration. Still staying with primary colors on this one. 

Still not finished with this theme. There's more to say about it and I haven't quite achieved what I want yet.

Encaustic Tutorial: Clear Wax Fills

I'm showing the process behind my Sing & Sting pieces, which are regrettably not my best craftsmanship (I mentioned how this was a weird batch of wax). You can view more and details at my YouTube Channel. Hopefully more to come, enjoy my first videos!

Step 1: Adding BackgroundVery fast and simple: glue desired background to wood. I'm using spray adhesive and handwritten text on 8"x8" masonite. You could paint on a background directly to the wood, but allow it to dry before you fill. Otherwise, you'll get "swirls" like those seen in my Tempus Fugit piece, which can also be nice.

Step 2: Adding a BorderSuper important! Make sure you have a durable border with no holes or gaps unless you love melted wax on everything. I'm using masking tape around the edge wrapped onto the back of the wood.

Step 3: Adding ItemsI added my item (a wasp nest) and poured in melted clear wax. You'll notice it is clear then turns opaque as it dries. I did not glue it down first. You may want to glue it in if you have especially delicate pieces that could move around. 

Forest Magic

This piece is a simple nature-themed assemblage in a small glass case. I kept with a yellow & brown color palette with natural tones. 

I added little "magic" touches like a "crystal ball" and a wand. Slightly fairy tale.

Lux Mentis Lux Orbis

This is an encaustic collage with an illustrated background and "found" light bulbs (mostly from cars, I think). The background is a drawn replica of one of Thomas Edison's lightbulb patents and was one of the harder things I've ever drawn. Seems easy, just lines, but getting them all to go where they need with no understanding of their purpose was challenging. 

I did a clear fill, waited for it to dry, then built a tape barrier and set it upright to fill the bottom as well to place the bulbs. 

This is my first piece to have a 2-way fill, pretty easy and turned out nice. 

I carved into some copper with a pointy stick (super technical) and filled it with black wax to make them stand out. 

And a close-up of some of the illustration because it's a shame to do that much work and just cover it up. 

Lux Mentis Lux Orbis: light of the mind, light of the world. 

Into the Rabbit Hole Event Page

Vintage Sewing Theme

This piece is a small assemblage made for Luna Girl Moon Beams challenge vintage sewing. 

Finally getting to use my old McCall's sewing pattern sheet and some other pieces like my spool and mini dress form. 

Sing & Sting

Today I created 2 pieces from found nature bits: a wasp nest and a bird's nest, Sing & Sting. 

The backgrounds of each are handwritten copies of Aesop's fables, The Bee and Jupiter and The Swallow and Other Birds. I placed the nests and did a clear fill around them. I also added some white scratches and splatters for variety. 

The wax batch I used for this was either old (can that even happen?) or not mixed well. It was very difficult to get it to do what I wanted and it kept cracking, making this "easy" project one that took almost all day. :/

Sing is also a submission for the challenge at Take a Word this week whose theme is "Feathered Friends".

Two-Tone Gallery Show

Two-Tone Event Page