Encaustic collage "Winter Fern"

"Winter Fern" - Encaustic painting (35x25cm, paper & wax on board)

Experimenting with encaustics is full of surprises. This new work involves shellac (left side) which actually didn't turn out as I would have liked it. It didn't create these large crates and web patterns - don't know what went wrong.
On the right side, my first trial of photo transfer, using a photocopy of a picture of the wonderful Karl Blossfeldt. Not easy to find a photocopy machine doing laser prints, as my inkjet copies wouldn't do the trick.
I made some incisions with sharp old dentist's instrument, filled them up with burnt umber oilpaint, put on a layer of medium, and finally collaged in the music. Although I'm not quite sure about this last bit, maybe I'll take it away again. It's there thanks to a musician friend, a cellist, who recognised two cello necks instead of the ferns.

Setting yourself goals for being creative

I admire Alicia Tormey's  daring and experimental approach to encaustics, resulting in subtle and often huge paintings. Here are her useful, inspiring tips on her blog.

12 Ways to Motivate an Artist

We all need a little push now and then so I put together this list of tips that have helped me stay motivated and maybe they can help someone else too.

1. Show Up: This is the single most effective thing you can do to improve your productivity in the studio. Get in there. Even if you are just making phone calls, sorting out your brushes or organizing your supplies. Simply spending time in your studio will get you into the habit of creating. Daily time spent in your studio will improve your productivity.

2. Set Goals: Set goals for yourself and break them down into smaller categories: Long Range, Short Term and Immediate. Example: I am going to paint 5 pieces this month, 2 paintings this week and prep 1 panel this afternoon.
3. Dress the Part: Put on your favorite work clothes for motivation. I have a great pair of funky old shoes (see photo) a beautiful scarf and a paint-encrusted smock that make me feel super creative the moment I slip them on. Discover your power outfit and wear it when you need some extra motivation.

these are my favorite shoes to work in

4. Connect with Community: Join an online forum and leave comments. (Connect right here!) Create or join a local chapter for artists in your area and meet once a month to discuss your progress and share resources. I am part of a group here in Seattle we call the Arty Girls. Start a blog and invite people to share their comments. (Just like this one – so please leave your comments .) Connecting with others will keep you going.

5. Make Yourself Accountable: Tell someone what you are working towards and share your progress with them. Enlist their help to keep you on track. Knowing that someone is waiting to see your progress can help maintain your momentum.

6. Lower Your Expectations: Not everything you create will be a masterpiece so allow yourself some time to create the experimental work and rough pieces that will inform your next masterpiece.

7. Open Your Studio: Invite a guest or the whole neighborhood to visit your studio. This will help you to get things organized and asses the amount of work you have ready to display.

8. Apply for Calls: Nothing like a deadline to get you motivated so apply for juried shows and art opportunities and create new work to submit. Even if you don’t get accepted the exercise of organizing and assessing your work is invaluable. Here are a few links to organizations that post National Calls For Art and other art opportunities: Art Deadline.com , Washington State Arts Commission and National Calls For Entry

9. Take a Class: Sign up for a class or workshop. (I prefer workshops because they tend to be condensed and more intense.) This will help you plug into your arts community and connect with like minded folks. It’s easy to comeback to your studio and continue working if you are already in the zone and dressed for the occasion. Arrange to meet with other students after the class.

10. Host an Art Exchange: Throw an art exchange party – Invite guests to bring a small, piece of original art in a plain brown wrapper to swap with other guests. When you know your work will be judged by your peers it can motivate you to up your game.

plain paper wrapping helps hide the identity of each artisit

11. Trade Critiques: Swap critiques with another artist. Share your work and use the feedback you receive to propel your work forward. Make changes and submit the new work for additional feedback – The exchange of ideas will help you stay focused and energized.

12. Give Yourself Permission: Don’t let other work or a looming deadline trap you into paralysis. The dishes, the laundry and the shopping can wait. Schedule time to be in the studio and give yourself permission to be there.

Letter to his Mother - Encaustic Collage

Letter to his mother (35x40cm)
Encaustic collage (coloured paper, stencil,fabric,original letter)

My father wrote many letters to his family back in Second World War Germany when he, at the age of 17, became a prisoner of war in 1945. He was quite lucky though, staying with a farmer's family on a small island in then Yougoslavia, off the coast from Dubrovnik. They really treated him like a son, and they had a strong relationship with each other for many years after his release in 1949.
His letters again show his strong feelings of responsibility for his family left in the Sudetenland (today's Czechoslovakia). They had to flee in 1944 to Western Germany, having lost everything and being forced to build up a new life from scratch, like millions of others.

To me, being born after the war and never have lived in wartimes, this all is hardly imaginable. There must be a psychological mechanism in us forcing us to start anew instead of falling into depression. Apparently there are hardly any people suffering from depression during wartimes. Every energy seems to go into surviving.

Encaustic Collage "Garden of Love"

Encaustic Collage "Garden of Love" (30x25cm)
coloured paper, stamps, fabric, hot pigmented wax

Encaustic Collage - "We set out together"

Encaustic Collage  "We set out together" (25x20cm)
printed paper, gold chocolate paper, leaf, text, pigmented wax