Welcome to

Crowned in Flowers

3

crowned in flowers project

IF YOU HAVE NEVER USED ENCAUSTIC WAX BEFORE - please watch this encaustic set up video. I promise it's not as scary as it sounds and this medium is truly magic!

Encaustic wax set up

Now that you got the wax set up, let's get to that gorgeous plaster!

Okay so first, we gotta put plaster on our board. It’s super easy. I love using Joint Compound because it is already mixed.

Introduction

Spread it evenly across the board, smoothing it with your knife. Don’t be overly worried about bumps or ridges, we will sand those later! Set someplace safe to cure. It's best if it is in a room that doesn't fluctuate too much in temperature or humidity. If you see small cracks try not to worry too much, they usually resolve and can be sanded. I like to use Fine Grit 120 Sandpaper to sand. Definitely do this outside! It gets very dusty!

a bit of poetry

Before we do that I wanted to add in a little bit about the poetry that I added to this piece. You can skip this part if you Poetry isn’t your thing or try it out and add in some special prose to your finished piece.

Here is the poem I included in my painting:

WHAT IS HAIKU?

Haiku is a Japanese poetry form. A haiku uses just a few words to capture a moment and create a picture in the reader's mind. It is like a tiny window into a scene much larger than itself.

Traditionally, haiku is written in three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line.

Examples of Haiku poems:

Try a to write a poem if you like! It’s really quiet relaxing and would make a special addition to your piece.

let's continue our project

Ok your plasterboard should be nice and dry and go ahead and sand it smooth, especially in the area where your figure is going to go! Again, I recommend you do this outside!! It gets very dusty!

You are going to fall in love with the coupling of plaster and wax! Plaster provides the foundation with it’s glowing and textured surface and encaustic wax encapsulates it in light and atmosphere. The two are truly a match made in heaven. Let’s begin!

part ONE

part two

part three

part four

So, how did it go? I hope you enjoyed this process! I can’t wait to see what you created and to hear how you resonated with this lesson!

It's time to say goodbye...