I teach encaustic technique workshops in my West Seattle studio. If you are interested, email me at stephhargraveart@gmail.com and I can add you to the list and you’ll receive information on dates and classes offered.
If you have a group of 5, I can schedule it specifically for what works for your group.
Class fees include all materials: substrates, wax, dammar, pigment, papers, inks and the use of equipment, tools and brushes. I teach 5 people at a time so as to give each student plenty of room and one on one attention.
Pre-payment please (2 weeks in advance). Your payment insures you are registered for the workshop and you’ll receive further details on location, what to bring, time(s) and date(s).
Introduction to Encaustics
This 4-hour workshop expands on what was covered in the introduction workshop, with additional techniques demonstrated: how to incorporate shellac, and how to make draw-through prints on tissue paper, how to create an inlayed line and use an encaustic stylus. More time is spent on how to layer and incorporate a myriad of techniques into your work, including adding fabric, thread, and papers thicker than tissue. We will make and use templates and transfer charcoal drawings off vellum into the work.
Noon – 4pm. Coffee and tea provided.
Fee: $140.00 per person
Intermediate Encaustics
This 5-hour workshop expands on what was covered in the introduction workshop, with additional techniques demonstrated: how to incorporate shellac, and how to make draw-through prints on tissue paper, and how to create an inlayed line. More time is spent on how to layer and incorporate a myriad of techniques into your work, including adding fabric, thread, and papers thicker than tissue. We will make and use templates and transfer charcoal drawings off vellum into the work.
Noon – 5pm. Coffee and tea provided.
Fee: $175.00 per person
Advanced Encaustics
This 8-hour workshop is intended to really focus on how to get the results you want with your work. More attention is focused on what your intention is, how to achieve your goals, and how to manipulate the medium in a way that results in the surfaces you desire. This class has plenty of working studio time and more personal instruction that the other two workshops and encourages each person to browse an array of art books during the day, as breaks will be needed. A PowerPoint presentation will be shown as we have lunch.
Coffee and tea provided throughout the day. Bring a lunch for yourself. The last hour or so a light dinner and wine will be served as we conduct a general critique.
10am – 6pm. Includes coffee and tea, a light dinner and wine.
Fee: $300.00 per person
Encaustic Painting: Progressive Development – 8 Sessions
For those who have taken my Introduction to Encaustics class (or the equivalent) and want to do ongoing classes, I have taken my Intermediate and Advanced workshops and spread them out over time which will also naturally come with unexpected additions as the sessions unfold. Working over a longer period ensures that the information really sinks in and starts to become second nature. Meeting every few weeks allows for lots of practice time and one-on-one attention. The goal is to enhance your skill set, your familiarity with the materials, and the development of your practice.
3-hour sessions every 2 weeks
$125 per session / $1,000 total
Session 1:
INTRODUCTIONS / REVIEW / PRACTICE
- Tell one another about yourself and what you hope to get out of the class
- Cover safety tips
- Review the basics
- WORK TIME
- Layering, Fusing
- Colors both transparent and opaque
- Oil Pastels
- Tissue Paper, Regular Paper, Thread, Fabric
Session 2:
HISTORY OF ENCAUSTIC PAINTINGS / CONTEMPORARY ENCAUSTICS
- R&F History Sheet
- Ancient Greek Fayum Portraits
- Discuss the ramifications of using such an ancient and archival technique
- Jasper Johns: bringing encaustic into the contemporary
- Joanne Mattera’s Book: The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax
- ASSIGNMENT
- Portrait using a limited palette as was done in ancient times
- Make your own “flag” or “target” encaustic based on Jaspers’ example
Session 3:
DEMONSTRATIONS
- Adding shellac in your pieces
- Draw-through prints on tissue paper
- Inlaid lines
- Transfer Charcoal from Vellum
- WORK TIME
- Focus on opacity and transparency
- Practice inlaid lines
- Transfers off vellum
Session 4:
PRESENTATION
- My PowerPoint from the International Encaustic Conference
- ASSIGNMENTS
- Get out of your comfort zone! Use a color you hate but make a piece you love
- Restrict Yourself! Make a piece using LINES and DOTS only (from my online workshop produced by Sonheim Creative)
Session 5:
CONSTRUCTING A PALETTE / COLOR MIXING / SMALL SERIES
- Each of you will choose a specific palette, or create it if it is not on the hotplate
- ASSIGNMENT
- Using your specific set of colors to create 3 smalls that work in a series or form a triptych
Session 6:
PRACTICALLY SPEAKING
- How to “make it your own”
- Making your work “wall ready” – framing versus not-framing
- The business of art – let’s chat . . .
- Showing / Marketing
- Photographing Work
- QuickBooks / Inventory Systems
- WORK TIME
- Work on whatever project has been percolating along the way
Session 7:
CONSIDERING WHAT’S OUT THERE
- Review of several artists working in encaustic, both west coast and east coast
- Look at and discuss my numerous encaustic books and art books
- Composition – the basics
- Maximalism
- Minimalism
- Balance
- WORK TIME
- Focus on emulating someone else
- Make a small work that is distinctly your own
Session 8:
INTENSION and CRITICAL THINKING – Less work, more dialog
- In depth discussion on what each of you is hoping to say with your art
- I’ll share what I learned in New York about critical thinking as it pertains to making artwork that has both an exquisite specificity but also speaks to the larger world
- Authenticity is the new Orange
- Formal Art Critique
- Be prepared to show and speak about all the work you’ve produced
- 15 minutes per person
Stephanie Hargrave 