Lisa Marie Sipe, “Bee in One’s Bonnet,” 24 x 24, encaustic on wood

Installation photos from the SouthwestNET: Painting exhibition:

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art is located in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information visit smoca.org.

The Sketchbook Project is the opportunity to create a sketchbook to tour across the country and ultimately end up in the permanent collection at the Brooklyn Library. After hearing about the Sketchbook Project I thought it would be an interesting way to share my artistic vision and I loved the idea that my sketchbook would be part of a permanent collection in New York. So after signing up for the project online I received my sketchbook in the mail. Yay! I was so excited to start creating my book. Let me tell you those white pages freaked me out. I let the fact that the book was going to be in a permanent collection mess with my head. It made the book way too precious. After at least a month (or two!) I found the courage to work on a few pages. I put together thoughts for new paintings and left the sketchbook for a few weeks. When I picked it up to start working on it again I was mortified because my painting sketches just seemed SO boring. Thousands of artists were participating in this sketchbook project and what I had produced I thought would clearly get lost among these books. This made me think, what could I do to stand out from all of the other books? and what do I want someone to gain from looking at my book? I decided I wanted to educate people about me but in a fun way. Growing up I loved coloring books so I decided to create a coloring and activity book about me. At first I loved this idea but it also scared the crap out of me. It seemed so narcissistic but at the same time since it did freak me out I thought I should do it because it would push me outside of my comfort zone. Once I got started the coloring/activity book was really fun to put together. I came up with mazes where the activity was to get my painting into art institutions such as LACMA, The Tate Modern and the Guggenheim. I used a Word Search game to make links to other artists I have shown my work with. It was an educational exercise because I didn’t realize I’ve shown my work with hundreds of other artists.

The 2012 Sketchbook Project began it’s tour on April 14th at the Brooklyn Library in New York and makes it’s way around the United States, then to Canada, England and finally ending the tour November 21st in Australia (click here for a full list of tour dates).

I was so happy with the hand-built version of the sketchbook I decided to publish it commercially on Blurb. So if you want to color some of my paintings, or help me get into the Guggenheim you can buy your copy here for $7.95.

The destructive force that burned through areas of Arizona and New Mexico earlier this year scorched the land my husband grew up on in the White Mountains of Arizona. The Wallow fire didn’t take family photo albums or ranch structures but it changed the landscape so we can only visit scars within our lifetime. Bathed in Fire captures imagery, wood and soot from Rudd Creek, Riggs Mountain and the brome fields at Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area. The work is about what is precious, natural and unnatural.

“Dead Wood,” encaustic and mixed media on wood, 10 x 10 x 5 inches

“842 Square Miles,” encaustic and mixed media on wood, 10 x 10 x 5 inches

“No Place to Hide,” encaustic and mixed media on wood, 10 x 10 x 5 inches

“Desaturation,” encaustic and mixed media on wood, 10 x 10 x 5 inches

“Burn Broil Bark,” encaustic and mixed media on wood, 10 x 10 x 5 inches

“It Doesn’t Take Much to Rip Us to Pieces,” encaustic and mixed media on wood, 10 x 10 x 5 inches

“Open Cones,” encaustic and mixed media on wood, 10 x 10 x 5 inches

“What is Natural,” encaustic and mixed media on wood, 10 x 10 x 5 inches

“Wallowing Not Swailing,” encaustic and mixed media on wood, 10 x 10 x 5 inches

Lisa Edwards with her bust (photo courtesy of Rachel Householder).

A selection of objects experimented with in class: wire, zip tie, torn paper, natural jute twine, torn fabric, brick-a-brack and cardboard roll.

After we practiced orb building and dipping we created a piece using what we created in class. A lot of other students created pieces with several different objects but I chose to work with a small canvas and my favorite orb, the brick-a-brack.

Brick-a-brack orb on 6 x 6 wood panel.

Once the orb was mounted to the panel we poured wax around the object.

When the poured wax cooled we applied a patina to the orb by rubbing it with oil paint to create the final piece.

My hotel fair display – complete with fancy ipad! Here are larger images of  Landed and The Shape of Things (the wood framed pieces).

To my surprise almost everyone that walked up asked me about my encaustic and resin pieces. Usually the first thing I heard was “is that encaustic?” and “how did you get that so shiny?” No one ever told me I couldn’t cover encaustic with resin so I tried it, I never knew it would make such an impact.

Lisa Marie Sipe, “Target Practice IV,” encaustic and resin on wood, 6×6 in.

A view of the main room of the Hotel Fair at the Provincetown Inn, MA.

The bed as display with artwork from Gregory Wright.

The hotel bed with tiered display by Peggy Epner.

A view inside a room at the hotel fair.

The hotel fair was a great way to see the artwork from conference attendees. I met more people at the hotel fair than any other conference event, I can’t wait for my next hotel fair. I think I’ll add some title tags next time!

Presented by Lynette Haggard
I’ve wondered for a while now how you use a torch with encaustic. In the past I’ve blown fuses and blown out wax with just a wanding of my industrial heat gun. Lynette introduced us to several different types of torches: the Iwatani Torch, Benzomatic Micro Torch, Benzomatic Trigger Torch and the Benzomatic Auto Ignition Torch. Lynette made wielding the torch look so easy and safe, I’m looking forward to trying it on my own. While each torch had their benefits but I think the Iwatani will be the gateway torch for me (plus I can use it for creme brulee if it doesn’t work out with my work!). Oh, and my favorite tip of the day, “Don’t attempt to answer your cell phone while fusing with a torch.” Words to live by.

Taking The Leap

Presented by Jhina Alvarado
I admire artists who are able to support themselves with their work and I’m always curious to learn how they do it. Jhina shared her journey with us, she has been working as a full-time artist for over a year. She offered us some great advice, which I will summarize:

1. Make good work and make lots of it.
2. Once you have the work, figure out what you want.
3. Get your money stuff squared away.
4. Get your work out there.
5. You’re in, now what? (don’t change your style right away!)

Jhina was very inspiring and I’m definitely going to start following her blog, Rising Artist, The Accomplishments and Struggles of One Artist Trying to Make it in the Art World. I managed to win a prize in this presentation, a signed copy of her “Forgotten Memories” art book. I never win anything, I finally got lucky! Click here to read what Jhina Alvarado has to say about her experience presenting at the conference.

The Encaustic Studio

Presented by Lisa Pressman.
This presentation was really fun. Lisa gave us a tour of about 15 different artists studios, including her own. She found an interesting relationship between the artists work and the view they had from their studio window. It made me think about what I look at while I work, my backyard, and nature is a big influence in my work. I of course walked away with a bit of studio envy, I saw some very large studio spaces with lots of windows and natural light that would be perfect for me to work in. I got some good ideas too. Jeff Schaller uses a bar mat since he stands while he does his work. Jane Nodine keeps a light over her work to keep her work warm (sometimes in the winter I find the wax cools too quickly, this is a great solution). Cora Jane Glasser stores her work in ready to ship Fedex boxes (so smart!). Lisa finished the presentation by showing her own studio which you can see here (also shown in the photo above).

Branding with Heat and Fire

Presented by Lorraine Glessner
I didn’t really know what to expect in the Branding with Heat and Fire demo. Lorraine showed us what is possible by branding with incense and different metal objects (all of these techniques are done prior to using encaustic). She started the presentation by giving a few safety tips: work in a well ventilated space, have a fire extinguisher, work on a surface like a sheet of metal or tile and a metal ruler can be used to quickly douse flames. I apologize for not having photos of what the branded patterns looked like but if you look at Lorraine’s work closely you can see the branding in the layers of her work. A great tip she shared with us is to keep two trays on your work station when branding labeled HOT and COLD. When you finish working with a hot piece of metal you place it in the hot tray so it keeps you from burning yourself when you forget which metal pieces on your table are hot.

What’s Your Work About?

Presented by Kim Bernard
Let me just say Kim had me at “let’s stretch before we get started since we are tired from lunch.” It was the perfect way to wake up and get the idea of stretching into our bodies, although the stretching we were about to do was mental. Kim’s demo was about discovering what your work is about. I, like many artists, have a hard time conveying what my artwork says in words. The lazy artist in me frequently says, I’m a visual person you should be able to know what I’m trying to convey just by looking at my work. Kim helped us discover what our work is about by using speed dating techniques. We partnered with four different people in the room, each time answering 1 question, with two minutes to answer. We answered questions like: What do you fear? If you could spend 6 months researching anything what would it be? We took notes after each “speed date.” Here are a few of the notes I wrote to myself:

“Natural vs. Synthetic, what does it do? how does it change us? I capture natural things and make them look synthetic.”
“What are companies like Monsanto doing to us? Scares me. I think about it every day with decisions about food, beauty products and household supplies.”
“I’m afraid my work will sit in my studio and won’t go anywhere or mean anything.” (this statement scares the heck out of me!!!! I can’t believe I just wrote it in my blog I feel a little exposed.)

If you can’t tell from my statements the session was pretty powerful. I feel like I left with greater clarity on what is meaningful to me and what I’m trying to say as an artist. I felt really energized from the experience, like I was buzzing. This from a girl who avoids her artist statement like the plague.

Displaying Work Outside Frame

Presented by Deborah Kapoor and Brenda Mallory
Deborah and Brenda presented work from over 25 artists to inspire us to display our work outside the frame. I was so excited about this presentation because I’ve already shown work outside the frame and was looking forward to some inspiration. I was not disappointed. Click here for a full list of the artists presented, I’ve highlighted a few of my favorites below:Kate MccGwireAlan Bur Johnson (check him out at Lisa Sette if you are in Phoenix)Deborah KapoorBrenda Mallory

I just attended the 5th International Encaustic Conference at the Provincetown Inn in Cape Cod. I’ve never attended an art conference before so I really wasn’t sure what to expect but I found the conference provided me exactly what I needed. I learned from and was inspired by my peers. I was shown new and refined encaustic techniques and I was infused with inspiration. There were so many experiences at the conference I’m going to do several blog posts to cover the full experience. First I have to say the location was amazing. This was my first visit to the Cape and it is a magical place. The people were friendly, the food was good and the views were breathtaking. As a desert dweller I took every opportunity to breath in the salt air.

The first day of the conference was loosely structured and I visited the encaustic vendors, saw some demos and attended an art opening. I managed not to spend too much money in the vendor room but I did find a few gems. I’ve never worked with heated tools so I picked up one from R&F Encaustics with a few different tips: Horn Tip, Burnisher Tip and Iron Tip. I also discovered a wax solvent from Miles Conrad Encaustics called Solve It© that can remove wax from cloth (among other things). This is a must have product for any encaustic artist, it was a great find. Miles also had a Soy Wax Brush Cleaner I will definitely be buying in the future. Another new product I had never seen before was water-soluble encaustic paint in a tube from Cuni. The company researched the composition of ancient encaustic to come up with the formula for their paint. It is used without heat, yes you heard that right, encaustic with no heat!

Later that evening Beeline opened at Kobalt Gallery. The show was juried by Francine D’Olimpio and included a wide variety of bee-themed artwork from conference attendees. I really wish I would have snapped a photo of Mary Beth Rothman’s piece, it was photo layered encaustic that included a picture of her as Nefertiti with a beehive-like hairdo. My description really doesn’t do it justice, hopefully she will include a photo of it on her website soon. I did manage to snap a pic of Nancy Lowe’s sculptural honeycomb piece “Hive Mentality,” which is encaustic and photo transfer on paper.

Other Provincetown galleries featured encaustic work. My favorite was at Ernden Fine Art Gallery by artist Milisa Galazzi. Milisa’s work is delicate and natural, she uses lace in various ways to reference the history of lace making as well as reference present day dualities. I was fortunate to visit while she was in the gallery so I was able to learn about her work directly.

All of these exciting things happened and it was only the first day of the conference! In my next blog post I’m going to share my experience at the encaustic conference demos.

"Young Linda"

“It all started out with a back ache,” said my Aunt and Godmother, Linda Beketa. Earlier this year she went to the doctor for back pain and through a series of tests discovered she had lung cancer, a tumor on her kidney and brain and fractured vertebrae caused by bone cancer. Linda went through a series of treatments including heavy rounds of chemotherapy and radiation that weakened her body and did little to fight the cancer. Twelve weeks after her diagnosis she died on Saturday April 9, 2011. Shortly after her funeral I received an email from my mother explaining that a nuclear test was launched in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 25, 1953, only 65 miles from where my Aunt lived. Linda, and her parents, saw the mushroom cloud and for the next 18 months one-year-old Linda played outside in what could very well be radioactive soil. My Aunt had cancer twice in her lifetime; the first was cervical cancer in her late thirties and lung, kidney, bone and brain cancer in her late fifties. This series of events inspired me to produce “Girl Plays in Radioactive Dirt.” Each piece in the series references a specific type of cancer my Aunt experienced and expresses the power cancer has to hide, invade and destroy. The work references the atomic age through the color palette which was inspired by the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab, an educational toy for children, produced in 1951 and 1952 that included radioactive material (this toy was pulled from the shelves after its first year in production). Most of the artwork titles were taken from what Linda or her family and friends said on Linda Beketa’s Care Pages (a blog that connects family and friends during a health challenge).

“Girl Plays in Radioactive Dirt” is dedicated to Linda Beketa; 20% of all sales from the show will be donated to the American Cancer Society in her name.

“We’re rooting for you kid”
encaustic and mixed media on found object

“Radioactive Injection”
encaustic and mixed media on wood
12 x 12 inches

“Tripping over one of the many cords”
encaustic and mixed media on wood
12 x 12 inches

“Gamma ray-sounds like something out of sci-fi”
encaustic and mixed media on wood
12 x 12 inches

“The tumor is VERY little”
encaustic and mixed media on wood
8.25 x 7.5 inches

“The halo that I wear”
encaustic and mixed media on wood
24 x 24 inches

“Cancer Cell”
encaustic and mixed media on found object
9.5 x 13.25 x 8.5 inches

“It started with a backache”
mixed media and encaustic on wood
20 x 20 inches

“Boo…they wouldn’t put on the sirens for me!”
mixed media and encaustic on wood
20 x 10 inches

“A little dopey”
mixed media and encaustic on board
10 x 10 inches

“Size of a pea, top of the brain”
mixed media and encaustic on wood
20 x 10 inches

Installation photos from Regular Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona

From the solo exhibition “Girl Plays in Radioactive Dirt,” at Regular Gallery in Phoenix, Arizona.