Back in 2009 before I left the company I had been with for 11 years, my mom who has always encouraged me to follow a creative path, introduced me to a medium that she thought would be great accompanied with my photography called Encaustic. Encaustic is a wax medium made of a formula of beeswax and damar resin then pigmented. The medium is melted and applied while in its molten state. As each layer of wax is applied to a rigid surface such a wood panel, it must be "burned in" by heat such as a heat gun or blow torch in order for the new layer of wax to adhere to the previous layer.
At that point in my life & soon after I just did not have the time to devote to educating myself so it went to the back burner. Mom had given me several books to read on the process so in 2012 I jumped in and began combing through everything I could get my hands on, taking a few workshops and most recently befriending the very talented Baltimore/Savannah artist Christine Sajecki who has been a huge help to me, giving her time and advice for studio visits,lots of Q&A, tips and some of her beautiful colors to use in my pieces.
Up to this point my body of work has been focused on shells. I love beach combing on all the little beaches around our coastal area and bringing home shells which I have everywhere around my house , inside and out. I am especially drawn to oyster shells. I love their shapes, textures and color variety which is perfect for this medium. Encaustic allows me to leave the painted surface textured or to heat it until it is smooth as glass. It can be opaque or luminescent ....I can carve into it allowing for more texture, intarsia or to reveal colors from below.
I am trying to master my creative "flow" which is proving to be more challenging than I thought it would.....I have so much I want to do! I am in the editing process for my next "series" which will feature my photography. I am super excited to get busy on these new pieces while continuing to paint my shells and any NEW inspirations the outdoors bring me. So, stay tuned!
My pieces are available for viewing under the ENCAUSTICS tab at the top of the blog. They are available for purchase via my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/JCSencaustics
or by contacting me at schaafjc@gmail.com.
A very special Thank you to my husband, Barrett for all of his constant encouragement and unwavering support.
