Textile work and trying encaustics

This is last week's project.... a sweatshirt jacket based loosely on a Gail Abloe pattern titled "I can't believe it's a sweatshirt." I say loosely because the pattern called for a new sweatshirt two or three sizes too large, unwashed, and a variety of fabrics, also unwashed. The object was for everything to shrink. Well, we have sweatshirts.... lots of sweatshirts.... and some of them are no longer wearable as they are. I also have lots of fabric... some of it already washed and some not. That's what I used. It didn't shrink the way it should have but the color of the sweatshirt works with the patches so it doesn't matter that it didn't disappear under them. Since I'd used scraps and an old sweatshirt, the finishing touch... the buttons. I have my mother-in-law's button box so I dug in there to find some buttons... five different buttons. I'm happy with the jacket and with spring coming, I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of it.

And this week....

What fun I had this week... playing with encaustics. For those of you who don't know, encaustics are a combination of beeswax, pigment, resin and heat. Damar resin is added to the wax as a hardening agent and to prevent air from escaping. Resin also gives the encaustic paintings their rich, glass-like sheen when they're buffed. It's similar to painting in oils but once the hot wax is on the support it dries almost instantly so no need to wait.

A friend of mine has been working in encaustics for some time. She invited some of us to her studio to try it out... this could become addictive.... I love texture and this gives one so many options ... This was my first piece....