It's wonderful to know what connects each of us to joy, and for me, my teaching does just that.
Sharing my love of this incredibly versatile medium of encaustic is such a delight. Nurturing a supportive, playful environment to allow the creative inner landscape to emerge in each individual student is sacred to me. And creating with and around others can add such amazing unexpected elements to our art making. I've been so fortunate to have such sweet students that accept my gentle invitation to play, explore and discover through this fabulous medium.
One of those very sweet students wrote about her experience after attending one of my encaustic weekend workshops in May of 2023. She writes...
The weekend Encaustics workshop with Jen Wiechers at the River Gallery School of Art was incredible—from materials, process, and technique, to creative mindset. Hands down, this is the best art workshop I have ever taken.
Jen's approach—overviews, detailed content, live demonstrations, studio management, interactions with all of us adult students—is organized, thorough, and fun.
She taught us amazing things, explaining and modeling all the details to assure we’d succeed:
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the importance of paying attention to temperatures—of the paints, the substrate, any elements to be added
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appropriate ways to control the application or removal of heat
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how to build layers of wax paint
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ways to create textures using various tools
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collaging with papers in the encaustic
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image transfer onto the encaustic
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filling incised marks with pigment stick color
And Jen made sure we had plenty of time to practice at our individual work tables, staying available to answer questions and offer guidance but giving each of us the amount of space we needed. She told us stories about her own journey as an artist and the challenges and joys she finds in working with encaustics. She shared books showcasing encaustic art and artists. She encouraged each of us to pursue what we found interesting, to develop our own encaustic approach.
I left at the end of the workshop on Sunday feeling prepared to set up my home studio (I work in monotype printmaking, mostly) for encaustic work, confident that I know enough to get started, and, very importantly, energized to continue my art adventures.
If you are looking for an invigorating art retreat, this is one I highly recommend!
Jeri Wall
Erin, NY
If you'd like to come join a class or workshop, check out the current offerings on my Exhibitions and Events page... I'd love to have you there and be a small part of your journey...