Vintage Finds/Encaustic Tools

Found some great things at the thrift store!

 They have already come in handy for my art.

 I used R&F Impasto/Modeling Wax for the first layer to make the impressions. 

Not finished yet but wanted to share it with you.

I've Started a Rust Farm!

this one will be available soon in the Etsy shop

Nature and the elements have always had a very special place in my heart...to me it is God's art and I am always looking for it, just as I am always breathing. What attracts me to rust is that element that quietly sneaks in and transforms , creating a beauty of it's own. 

On one of our biking trips, we found some old rusty screws which brought me back to our days in Africa. We ran an antique shop there ( there we called it a collectables shop, sense you didn't say" antique" unless it was over a 100 years old, here the term is used more liberally). Behind the antique shop was our workshop, where the oak and oregon pine furniture was restored. I loved the rusty bits and pieces that naturally collect there and often ended up in the shop for sale. 

rusty keys I brought back from Africa

Needless to say we brought home the rusty screws that day and I've had them in a jar until recently. 

Eager to try an encaustic technique I pulled the screws out of the jar and started making rust prints and haven't stop yet. I believe I have started a rust farm :-)

Rust prints waiting to be worked on!

Below are some of the finished encaustic pieces , they are available in my Etsy shop!

CEREMONY

WEDDING DANCE

Puzzled Encaustic

 I am often inspired by things I find. When I saw these two cute puzzles I knew I had to use them in my encaustic work.  

I don't have a picture of this piece finished, it sold at the art show before I took a picture.

Grow With Love

This piece is available in My Etsy Shop

Under the Quilt

Laying out Lua's Quilt, shhhhh don't tell her it is for her 8th birthday.

 After the first winter storm yesterday ( looks at least 12 inches of snow), the only reasonable thing to do is sit under the quilt and quilt.

Frozen chairs

Inspiration

Inspiration comes from many different places, and where it goes depends on what you do with it. Some of the best sources of inspiration is to try something new and meeting someone new....it always (if you allow it) leads you somewhere and gives you new energy. My inspiration last week was a Free Arts mentors workshop with Steve King. He is a Wisconsin artist working and teaching in oil pastels. He obviously has a passion for teaching kids art and has taught in many different countries around the world. Taking us through a art lesson we could use in our free arts mentoring, he had us do an exercise starting with a magazine clipping(see it in the center of the photo above.)  Playing with the oil pastel was just plain fun. It was so great to have him share his thoughts and ideas about our work.  I learned some and enjoyed meeting a very interesting Artist.

Funny enough it was that little magazine clipping that  spoke to me the next day. I have piles of scrape books with magazine clipping of things I like or want to draw or paint. I surrounded them with bits of pictures that are unrecognizable as things, but which created a texture or feeling. 

Above are pages from one of my many inspiration scrapbooks. I started making these about 25 years ago. It is a good way to put creativity into motion. It is also very therapeutic.

I have been working in abstract as of late with my encaustics And had a pile of magazine clipping of textures and color. I could not be content until they were pieced together in an abstract form. Not sure where this will lead me, but I know it is part of what makes my art.

Yeah, The Shop is Open!!!

Whoa, finally got the shop open!!!! Come have a look at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CathyMissaghiArt

Art Show

Yeah! the Art Show was a success, and good fun! I loved spending the day and sharing a booth with my dear friend Julie! I meet so many wonderful people, Winona is really such a friendly place.

Biz Cards! Art Sale !

My dear son Adeeb, made me business cards for the art sale this weekend! He photographed my work for the images on one side  and did his graphic design magic on the other. I LOVE THEM!

If you are in the area on Saturday stop by and say Hi !

Labels Encaustic

I found these vintage labels in a thrift store and garage sale. Knew instantly they needed to go into encaustic work!! I hope you like.

Introducing the Label Series!

In this piece not only did I use the vintage gum labels but I also use a label from a vintage spool of thread for the center.

This piece is my favorite. I used Adeeb's stamps he made in his printing class to print on the computer printer labels.

In this piece I drew and painted on the labels. 

Bugs Life updated

This one didn't quite seem finished so I added the spider web, I think it is done now. 

A Bugs Life in Encaustics

 I've been working on getting encaustic pieces done for my new shop and a art show in November. It has been a joy to work everyday making art, I could definitely get use to this!

 

I've also been experimenting with many different encaustic techniques to build my skill...so much to learn! In the two peices above I have used an intarisa technique, burned in fabric, a lace placemat, transfered a graphite drawing, painted with oil, gouche and oil pastels! I think this is why I love working with bees wax, it allows me to use so many different mediums in many different ways.

Vintage Finds

A few of the creamy white vases I have found over the years with a new gem of a red tin.

Quilt and pillow found sometime this year,  sweet water color in a red frame is the recent vintage find..I love it!

Not sure what this is for....any guesses?

Ok, I know this doesn't look like much or vintage...I picked it up at the local thrift shop and have already started to dismantle it for encaustic work. Stay tune to see what it becomes!

Encaustic Painting

Here are the  last of the Autunm Song Series. These two are larger (12" x 12") then the  triptych  was done on 6x6" board. I had alot of fun doing these and would like to do more. So I am going to set up an etsy shop soon.