Playing With Fire - Day 3 Encaustic Workshop

Burnishing the Photo Transfer

Today Linda demonstrated the transfer of a photo image, and these are important points to remember:

• photo image must be transferred to a WARM board
• photo image must be transferred to a SMOOTH board
• the image must be printed on a laser printer, not an inkjet
• use plain copy paper
• if you want writing, make sure you print a "mirror-image" so the words don't look like a foreign language
• press the ink side down into the board of warmed wax
• burnish as above - you can use the backside of a spoon
• then pour water (don't be stingy) over the entire transfer
• rub the paper off with your finger until the transfer is left
• Fuse with a HEAT GUN, not THE TORCH (we're dealing with paper, folks)

Transfer Complete!

Then you get to play some more with whatever techniques you want - even the Torch  - and encaustic paint, line, oil glazes. We especially liked the use of pan pastels over this.

Using Pan Pastels

FINIS

I didn't have a laser copy but I had previously printed some images on my ink jet and these can be collaged.  I printed one of my photos of Mont St. Michel, France in sepia.  Just thinking of that place takes my breath away.  It's an image that's stayed with me ever since I saw a photograph in a book in high school.  

Mont Saint Michel

I'll share some more of my encaustic art in the coming days, and in the next day or so you should be able to see many of the pieces from the workshop artists at the Facebook page for Lowcountry Artists - the gallery that sponsored Linda and this fabulous workshop!