Artist teaching Artist

I have been working with encaustics since mid 2006, when I took a three day class with Hylla Evans. It was an amazing three days that renewed my love of art (I had stopped painting for 6 years...but that's another blog entry) and started my journey into what is now some of my best work I have ever produced. Since then, I have experimented, I have taken a few more classes, and can say that I have a pretty good feel for encaustics as a medium.

Occassionally, I get a request to work with an artist and "show them the ropes" of encaustics. After teaching 26-32 teenagers all day, I have to say that teaching a fellow artist, one on one, is pretty nice. You can really interact with the person and answer their questions more fully. A lot of times, artists come in with ideas of what they want to do already in their head. They just need someone to help/ explain how to get that vision on a panel. I like being the catalyst that enables them to create their vision. Sounds egotistical, I know, but it's fun.

This past weekend, I got to work with artist/illustrator Sean Chapman who wanted to incorporate wax into his work. We spent the day learning different techniques and then Sean got to "play". The results were pretty impressive for one day's worth of lessons and work.

Having artists share their techniques and methods, whether through discussion or demos, is one of the most important parts of growing as an artist. It's nice to experiment and play on your own, but nothing beats having a conversation with another artist who knows what you are talking about and can help you get your vision across. I know that I enjoy learning from my fellow artists!