Opportunity knocks.

Always. It may come in different forms, packages or venues. But an opportunity to learn something new is always there. Whether it is a class, a job, or situation, ultimately, it is about yourself. Even if it is something we have done before, the real question is can you see with fresh eyes, open mind, and heart.

That’s why I love teaching.  As I watch my students delve in to the process, be it painting, encaustic, books arts, whatever the art form, I see a shift occur when we simultaneously focus on the moment or task and let go of preconceived ideas of what is possible.

One such opportunity presented itself recently in my Encaustic Workshop at Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) in Wilmington, DE.  As Joanne Mattera states in The Art of Encaustic Painting, it is a simple process of “heat, color, fuse. ” Heat the surface (board or panel), add color (pigmented beeswax with damar resin) or collage, and fuse with heat gun. Simple however, does not often mean easy. Learning to translate what is in your head or mind’s eye to board is tricky, but working through that with trial and error is where the opportunity lies.

Once again we see that the journey is the destination because while encaustic does give us luscious and luminous surface, colors and texture the opportunity is in what we discover along the way.

Looking for an opportunity to Heat, Color, Fuse? join me for my next Encaustic Workshop (COURSE ID: FA0189) at DCAD on Saturday, April 11, 2015. For more info click here.