Order Douglas Mehrens Book Now

Order now and get your own signed edition and we'll ship it to you for free! US $45.00, NM residents $47.98 Canada/Mexico add $18.95 shipping/handling Overseas add $29.70 shipping/handling Books are ready to ship. To order and for more information click on the link: www.artguildpress.com/books/painting-in-wax

Upcoming Workshops - Ellen Koment

Ellen Koment - Thinking Big Worshops

for more information www.nmencausticworkshops.com

More About Encaustic Painting: Going a little larger combined with Intro to Encaustic - July 12-15

Open to beginners as well as more advanced encaustic artists, this four day workshop will take you from a small panel to an intermediate size (up to 20"). We will cover, or review, all the basics, as well as discussing when it is appropriate,and important, to take your work both to a larger size, and to a more conceptually considered state. The why of what you do, as well as the how to.

Beyond Beginning: Going Large - August 12-16

Open to Intermediate and More Advanced encaustic painters, this workshop will enable you to work on larger scale..up to 36" in any dimension, or put together a series of paintings to creat a large diptych, triptych..or more. We will discuss the conceptual basis for working larger, what is to be learned, how to approach it, and the things, both technical and aesthetic, that need to be considered.

Beyond Beginning: Going Large - Nov 5-9, Right after the IEA conference in Santa Fe.

Open to Intermediate and More Advanced encaustic painters, this workshop will enable you to work on larger scale..up to 36" in any dimension, or put together a series of paintings to create a large diptych, triptych..or more. We will discuss the conceptual basis for working larger, what is to be learned, how to approach it, and the things, both technical and aesthetic, that need to be considered.

EAI 2013 Calandar

Encaustic Art Institute - Events 2013

EAI Permanant Gallery is open to the public Saturdays & Sundays 1-5 PM, April through October. Also open by appointment. Contact Douglas 505-424-6487

January/February – CLOSED for gallery remodel. The existing workshop space is being removed and two new 8 x 12 floating walls are being installed, giving 48 more linear feet of art space to display the “permanent collection.” In addition, two other walls are being made available, providing 24 more linear feet for members artwork.

March - Open for appointments. 505-424-6487. Displaying rotating members work all month.

March 1 - CALL FOR ART: “Wax with Dimension.”(“Wax with Dimension” opens May 18th)

April – Open Saturdays/ Sundays – noon to five/or by appointment. Displaying rotating members work through May 12th.

May - Open Saturdays/Sundays – noon to five/or by appointment.

May 3 - CALL FOR ART: “Self Portrait; A Journey Within.” (“Self Portrait; A Journey Within” opens July 20th)

May 10 - “Wax with Dimension” labels and shipping deadline by 5:00. (see your call for art for details)

May 18 - Members Show: “Wax with Dimension.” Opening: Saturday May 18 noon to five. Showing May 18 through June 16thth

June - Open Saturdays/Sundays – noon to five/or by appointment.

June 1-16 - Displaying “Wax with Dimension” show.

June 22 through July 14th – rotating members work.

July - Open Saturdays/Sundays – noon to five/or by appointment.

July 1-14 - Showing rotating members work.

July 1 - CALL FOR ART: 3rd Annual National Juried Exhibition.

July 12 - “Self Portrait; A journey Within” labels and shipping deadline by 5:00. (see call for art for details)

July 20 - Members Show – “Self Portrait; A Journey Within”. Opening: Saturday July 20th noon to five. Showing July 20 through August 31st.

August - Open Saturdays/Sundays – noon to five/or by appointment.

Aug. 1-31 - Displaying “Self Protrait; A Journey Within” show

August 2 - CALL FOR ART: 5th Annual EAI Fundraising Gala. EAI Fundraising Gala opening Sept. 14th.

September – Open Saturdays/Sundays – noon to five/or by appointment.

Sept. 6th - 5th Annual EAI Fundraising Gala shipping and label deadline by 5:00. (see call for art for details)

Sept. 14th - 5th Annual Fundraising Gala. Opening: Saturday Sept. 14th 5-9 pm.

Sept. 27th - National Juried Encaustic/Wax Exhibition shipping and label deadline by 5:00. (see call for art for details)

October - Open Saturdays/Sundays – noon to five/or by appointment.

Oct. 5 – 31 - 3rd National Juried Encaustic/Wax Exhibition. Opening: Saturday Oct 5th noon to five. Ahowing: October 5 through 31st

Oct. 5,6 & 12,13 - Madrid and Cerillos Studio Tour. EAI represented as one of 29 local artists and studios. Showing: National Juried Encaustic/Wax Exhibition.

Oct. 31st through November 3rd – IEA encaustiCON conference in Santa Fe. EAI is in the process of finalizing the schedule of events with IEA to correspond with the conference. Stay tuned and we will post any gallery showings for this time period. (Please register early, lets make this the best ever event.)

November - Open by appointment: 505-424-6487.

December - Open by appointment: 505-424-6487.

Larain Matheson Holds Workshop

ENCAUSTIC PAINTING WORKSHOP SATURDAY APRIL 27, 9:30-4pm

Larain Matheson’s studio - 37001 CR 526 - 2 miles north of Gualala on the coast, 2 ½ HRS. NORTH OF SAN FRANCISCO all levels of experience welcome! - $130 plus $35 materials fee - Larain Matheson Art.com

Encaustic is an ancient painting technique that comes from the Greek and Egyptian cultures.It means “to burn in”. We will be exploring the medium using melted beeswax with oils to paint on a variety of surfaces. The beauty of this medium is the transparencies is produces through the beeswax. Come experience the AMAZING POSSIBILITIES this medium can give you. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced artist there are beautiful results. Be fearless to create something new!

Ezshwan Winding's Workshops in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

I offer on-going encaustic workshops in beautiful San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. This city is an artists’ paradise with many galleries, artists’ studios, and cultural activities everyday. We have year round Spring-like days and the picturesque town is a UNECO heritage site.

I have been an artist for over 50 years, concentrating on encaustic for the last 13. I have taught hundred of artists the encaustic technique for more than 8 years. For examples of students work and more details please check my blog: ezshwan.blogspot.com or website, www.ezshwan.com

ezshwan4art@gmail.com

Paul Roland's 2013 Workshops

For more information go to www.RolandWorkshops.com To view Paula’s work: www.PaulaRoland.com

MARK MAKING ON & OFF THE HOTbox™ - SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO - FEBRUARY 21-24, 10AM- 4 PM (first day begins at 9AM).These informative and fun exercises and experiences are designed to help you create outside of your habitual ways of working using encaustic and mixed media. Held in Paula Roland’s Santa Fe studio. Full description and registration at www.RolandWorkshops.com

ENCAUSTIC MONOTYPE INTRO - SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO - MARCH 21-24, 10AM- 4 PM (first day begins at 9AM). Join Paula in her Santa Fe studio and learn all about this amazing process she introduced to the world of Encaustic. www.RolandWorkshops.com

MASTER CLASS, GUEST ARTIST LAURA MORIARTY -- Excavating Encaustic: Pushing Process - Santa Fe, New Mexico APRIL 12-14, 10AM- 4 PM (first day begins at 9AM). Laura’s techniques will inform your practice (painting, sculpture, or monotypes) in ways that cannot be foreseen! Learn more about Paula’s guest artist and instructor/curator at www.LauraMoriarty.com Held in Paula Roland’s Santa Fe studio. Full description and registration at www.RolandWorkshops.com

ENCAUSTIC PRINTS AND KOZO FIBER RELIEF, A NEW MONOTYPE CLASS! JUNE 3-4, in Provincetown, MA! Co-taught by Paula Roland and Jennie Frederick at the 7th International Encaustic Conference. http://encausticconference.blogspot.com/ CLASS FULL!

ENCAUSTIC MONOTYPE INTRO - Santa Fe, New Mexico- SEPTEMBER 19-22, 10AM- 4 PM (first day begins at 9AM). Join Paula in her Santa Fe studio and learn all about this amazing process she introduced to the world of Encaustic. Full description and registration at www.RolandWorkshops.com

INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED ENCAUSTIC MONOTYPES - Santa Fe, New Mexico - OCTOBER 26-30, 10AM- 4 PM (first day begins at 9AM)

This class is just prior to the International Encaustic Artists’ conference, Encausti-con, in Santa Fe. Experienced wax monotypers, please join Paula in her Santa Fe studio to extend your personal process with this exciting and versatile medium. This class is just prior to the International Encaustic Artists (IEA) conference, Encausti-con, in Santa Fe. http://www.encausticon.com Full description and registration at www.RolandWorkshops.com

ENCAUSTIC MONOTYPE INTRO - Santa Fe, New Mexico - NOVEMBER 7-10, 10AM- 4 PM (first day begins at 9AM). This class is just after the International Encaustic Artists’ conference, Encausti-con, in Santa Fe.. Join Paula in her Santa Fe studio and learn all about this amazing process she has introduced to the world of Encaustic. This class is following the International Encaustic Artists (IEA) conference, Encausti-con, in Santa Fe. http://www.encausticon.com/ Full description and registration at www.RolandWorkshops.com

Josie Rodriguez Encaustic Workshops

Josie Rodriguez Art Studio: • On-going Encaustic Workshops. • Basic, Advanced,Wax and Paste Paper • Exploring Encaustic Vessels, Practice Sessions • Josie Rodriguez, San Diego, Ca www.josierodriguez.com josierod1@cox.net

Upcoming Workshops

To EAI Members: Last year EAI was unsuccessful in filling the majority of our scheduled workshops here at the Institute. So this year we are going to promote through EAI any members workshop agenda. We can take any information you would like to give us on your workshop and it will be posted on the EAI blog. In addition, we will refer website or email inquiries to the blog postings. To participate in this, you will need to send information to Linda Fillhardt at fillhardt@lindafillhardt.com. She needs to receive this in a word doc or text files, and images in jpegs format. Anything in any other format will not be accepted. Be sure your information includes clear instructions on how to apply and what city the workshop is being held. You need to be a current EAI member to post a workshop on the blog.

2012 Annual Report

* Currently 131 members! * 10 encaustic paintings were sold, and two sculpture pieces. 25% of the sales of the sculptures went into the general fund. 15% of the sales of the paintings went directly into the marketing fund. * 10 members’ paintings were sold at the 4th Annual Fundraising Gala. $600 of raffle tickets was sold and this year we had a “pay bar” which brought in another $300. We made over $3500 after costs. The attendance was down this year, and we will revisit how to expand and improve. A BIG thank you to members who donated a painting for this once a year fund- raiser. We of course couldn’t do it without your generosity and support. * A donation drive was implemented this summer, with post card mailings and brochures as leave-behinds. In addition to the “donation jar” in the gallery, we received over $900 in donations. * The permanent encaustic collection continues to grow and now has 140 pieces. We are keeping the communication going with Museum directors about housing a museum exhibition of encaustic work from our collection. For more information on this, contact us at mehrens@eainm.com * Workshops at the Institute included: Beginning workshop with Sherry Ikeda * The Encaustic Art Fund was established to provide sales funds directly to the artist while the purchaser pays on a schedule, and was enthusiastically used a number of times this year. * 2013 calendar is almost complete, and will be posted on the website and blog. Stay tuned. * The Institute blog is working very well. Thank you Linda Fillhardt! * EAI Face book is also doing well. Thank you Michael Pearce! * Advertised in THE Magazine every edition, as well as added advertising in the local newspaper’s entertainment section. Thank you Tina Robinson, and Russell Thurston! We also received additional advertising in newspapers, and brochures for Albuquerque and Santa Fe in the month of October for the local studio tour EAI participated in. This generated the strongest gallery attendance of the year. * The Encaustic Art Magazine has just published its 4th edition in December. Its success shows with increased readership and advertising. EAI also gains exposure through the magazine. Thank you Michael Pearce, Andrew Adleman and Kari Gorden for all the work it takes to put this together. * We added a part-time employed membership coordinator and all around computer organizer – Kari Gorden. A long time member herself, she understands our needs and keeps us organized!

Tips on Shipping and Framing Encaustics

Tips on packaging, shipping, framing and hanging encaustic art – by Douglas Mehrens

After 6 years of receiving, hanging, storing and returning artwork - shipping over 500 pieces of encaustic art from the Institute, I would like to share a few things I have learned. These are of coarse my own opinions, and most of this you might already know and follow.

SHIPPING

1. If you are not on a dead line, save your money and ship it 3 day ground, Fed-x or UPS. It’s basically handled the same way except it is transported at a lower altitude and arrives without a weekend interruption. If you ship often, then consider an account which will lower the cost.

2. Insurance is expensive and if your artwork is package right, labeled properly, (put fragile, art, handle with care, on all sides of the box, larger the better – (NEVER SHIP WITHOUT THESE LEBELS), then you should feel secure to take out the standard amount that is covered with the shipping bill. However if you want to be fully covered, FedEx covers up to $1000 only, where UPS will cover as high as you want to go. I find that Fed-X and UPS very seldom loose a package. I have never had an experience of a lost package, but have had 2 experiences of damaged artwork. In both cases, the artwork was not packaged properly so the insurance would not have covered them.

3. If at all possible do not ship on a Thursday or Friday. If you can, ship on a Monday or Tuesday. This makes sure your beautiful art is not stuck in a truck somewhere over the weekend. This can be especially hazardous in extreme heat or extreme cold.

PACKAGING

If you love your art, treat it lovingly. Packaging is the #1 priority. When you hand-deliver your art anywhere, wrap it and put it in a box just like you were shipping it. BUT when you are shipping it, if you want to avoid problems - double box it and follow these steps.

1. Wrap the art in wax paper using colored tape, not clear so the person unwrapping it can gently undo the paper.

2. Wrap the piece with large bubble wrap preferably, not small ones. Tape the same way, at least 2 inches on all sides.

3. Choose a box that your artwork will fit in snug if you can, if not put the wonderful static, messy peanuts all around it. Or, build your own structure out of foam core, etc that it will fit snugly in.

4. Close the box, tape it and label the box with your name, address, email phone, etc. on the out side. Also, what painting fits inside, as you may be shipping more than one. Also helpful is directions as to how to repack your artwork, like arrows, etc. Especially if your piece has a 3 dimensional quality to it. Don’t assume that someone will remember how they unpacked your piece when there sometimes are over 50 paintings to unpack within a week for a show.

5. THE OUTER BOX should not be a box that is from the grocery store, or some other flimsy box. Use a double thick coriaged box; choose one that is larger than your first box at least 8’ all around. Pour in 8” of peanuts in the bottom, place your box in the middle and pour all around it, to the top, then tap it a few times to get them settled and fill the voids. (large bubble wrap works well too) Then seal the box completely with strong tape, label with all the proper labels - fragile, handle with care, and use the store-bought ones that are large and bright. They work much better than using a felt tip and printing it on the box. Be sure to put them on all sides.

6. Last but not least, be sure to label your artwork. You may have put a piece of paper in the packing that is the label to your piece and you may have sent label information to the gallery…..but things float away like socks from a dryer and you need to have label information somewhere on the painting.

FRAMING

This is for the artists that understand a framed piece quite often is worth more than an unframed one. Also, a framed artwork usually sells easier than unframed ones (at least in my experience). However, there is something to be said for allowing the buyer to purchase your piece at a lower price and have it framed to suit their needs. Again, my experience is most buyers wouldn’t know what to pick out or just don’t want to bother with having to take it to a framer.

Many encaustic artists finish the sides of their paintings in wax, allowing the creativity to flow out all sides. It is contemporary in look and some of these are good as stand-alone art. You have to be the one to judge that for yourselves. However there is one problem in this style for galleries who store your artwork. Even thought most storage spaces are covered with carpet or soft surfaces, there still is a big risk that when theses pieces are set on their sides, there is potential for chipping.

If you do frame your piece, it is better to set the art back from the front of the frame at least 1/8 of an inch. If it is even with the frame, then there is possibility that it may get damaged. For those of you who beautifully paint on all of the sides, a good option is to float your art inside the frame 2 – 3 inches within a border around the art, so the sides can be seen. If you have never done this, take one of your small pieces to a framer and have them show you what it would look like. You might be happily surprised.

HANGING

The best looking piece of art on a wall is one that is level, and parallel with the wall not on an angle. With most constructed encaustic art panels, the piece can be hung by its frame. It takes two level nails, and when hung – the artwork is level and does not move. If you use an eye hook and wire ALWAYS put the eye hooks inside the frame not on the outside. This way it will hang flush on the wall. The saw tooth hanging clips are really hard to deal with, again because of the way the painting cannot hang flat on the wall.

ALWAYS sign your art. Collectors look for signatures and often decline a sale for lack of signature. A signature can be on the side as well as the back, if you are not inclined to sign on the front. A date when the artwork was finished is also appreciated. Included should always be a label on the back with your name, title, size, date painted, price and description of the piece. Also a phone or email address is always appreciated. This label can be taken off by the buyer if they want, but the label also needs to be secured well enough that it doesn’t come off when transporting.