Another backlit prototype

My initial experiments with waxed papers infused with wax over a heating plate, then sandwiched between two glass panes, have not been fully success flu. First, the front and back surfaces of the wax infused pieces on paper are in direct contact with the glass panels. If the piece is flat and has no texture, this might be fine, but, following the workshop in Victoria, I am again more drawn to altering the surface with texture: dripping, scraping, sctayching the wax applied with a hake paint brush, embedding leaves, drawing on it, applying fabric textures, rubbing diluted oil and spirit washes in the crevices, etc. This means the piece will have texture.

However, I do not tend to want to mount the pieces on a substrate. I seem to prefer exploiting the translucent quality of the wax infused washi paper, backlighting the pice using ambient light from nearby lamps and windows. This allows the piece to change as the natural and artificial light changes,  showing the front and the back.

In the test piece below, I have mounted the piece between the glass panes in such a way that the textures front is separated from the glass pane; only the back of the piece lightly touches the back panel. In this example, the light from the back plays with the wax droplets—an effect you wouldn't notice if the piece was mounted in a frame with a mat or mounted to a substrate. Note how vivid the colours are when the piece is displayed in this fashion, compared to the image in the previous post.

Advanced Encaustics workshop in Victoria

Earlier this week, I attended a 2-day Advanced encaustics workshop in Victoria led by Leah Macdonald. It was a nice follow-up to last year's Introduction to encaustics workshop. We worked with different types of papers (thin Japanese paper to thicker, more textured papers). Of course, I preferred the Japanese paper because of its thinness and translucency once infused with wax.

Wood Nymph, pigment ink & pencil on Fabriano cold press,
infused with yellow beeswax, oil paint, leaves,  9.5 x 13 in, 2014

Untitled, pigment ink on Asuka washi,
infused with yellow beeswax, handmade paper, oil paint, 10 x 14.5 in, 2014

We also did one piece on a wood substrate.

Alien Contact, pigment ink, Kozo washi & Hahnemuhle Rag on wood panel,
infused with beeswax, oil paint, leaf, 10 x 14 x ½ in, 2014

We also explored making a simple waxed book using discarded and test prints, fabrics, thread, etc.

Lyrical encaustic artists

While browsing encaustic artists' websites, I came across a few artists whose work resonated with me. The three artists below make use of Japanese washi or rice paper infused with wax, exploiting the paper's translucent qualities. Eisenberg and Guthridge both make use of photos printed with archival pigmented inks on Japanese paper, rendering semi-abstract segmented panels (Guthridge also superimposes panels)—like small windows of time for us to pause and look through. Roland first draws with coloured wax medium on a metal hotplate, then pulls monoprints from the wax layer.

All works evoke zen-like ethereal visual haiku poems, sometimes lit from behind, sometimes suspended away from the wall, fluttering, or mounted behind clear acrylic. The works seem to whisper to us softly in passing... inviting our eyes to touch....

Jeri Eisenberg

Sugar Maple Floaters (Orange), No. 6, 2008
Archival pigment ink on Kozo paper infused with encaustic, 36 x 34 in. Ed. 4/12, triptych
Source: http://www.markelfinearts.com

Jane Guthridge

The Space Between, Triptych - 4
Source: http://www.janeguthridge.com

Paula Roland

Connecting Dots
Encaustic monotype exhibition (backlit)
Source: http://http://www.paularoland.com

Backlit floating frame

Buddha 1, pigment ink on wax-infused kozo paper, ambient lighting, 10"x8"

I've experimented with floating frames where I can sandwich a wax-infused print between two pieces of glass. For the example shown above, I printed a photo on Awagami double-layered kozo, then peeled the kozo image layer from the pulp backing. The resulting image was then infused with encaustic medium on the hotplate. The paper is very thin (approximately 30 gsm) and enhances its translucency by capturing ambient light from the back. I prefer this method of backlighting to using LEDs since it is much simpler and the mood of the image changes constantly with the surrounding light.

Back view

Backlit wax-infused photograph

Since I'm interested in the translucency of wax-infused Japanese unryu washi paper, I've been experimenting with backlighting a photograph printed with pigment ink. I used an extra deep IKEA RIBBA frame and LED diode strips. Though the result is acceptable, I still need to tweaks the positioning of the light strips, the addition of a reflective aluminum backing and the colour of the light. I'd also like to see if I can layer the prints.

Encaustic heat table

James and I fabricated an encaustic heat table so that I can gently heat up the beeswax and apply it with a brush to thin Japanese paper. We used an IKEA KOMPLEMENT drawer inside of which I secured four porcelain lamp bases, lining the whole inside of the drawer with foil insulation. A dimmer switch allows me to control the temperature that is emitted from the four 100 W incandescent bulbs that heat up the aluminum sheet. The energy expended by the bulbs is much less than that which would be consumed by an electric griddle.

Inside the heat table

Anodized aluminum sheet covering the box (approx. 24" x 30").
Note the dimmer switch to control the heat intensity.

Wax melting in tin will be brushed onto the surface of the aluminum
plate and will soak into the paper, making it translucent.

Wax infused Japanese paper becomes quite translucent, a quality I am interested in exploring with my mixed media photographs. This process will be used as well for the pages of the accordion book (flutterbook) I am currently working on.

Handmade book project

Initial explorations on a handmade book 

After much research and material sourcing, I have started on a handmade bookmaking project. It will editioned book (possibly 2-3 copies). The working title is Artist and Hamadryad, an original poem on transformation revolving around a wood nymph who inhabits a birch tree and an artist-muse.

The poem will be layed out, then printed on Japanese unryu washi paper, accompanied with photos. The pages will then be infused with wax, becoming translucent, then the photos will be enhanced with oil stick pigments and embedded natural items such as leaves and metal flakes.

I will also create a series of "loup" masks with various waxed washi papers over a plaster face cast of a friend.