Creative Image Transfer Giveaway!

So I have some exciting news that I have been anxious to reveal. A while ago I was asked to create an encaustic artwork that used Transfer Artist Paper or TAP. The work was included in a book by Lesley Riley called Creative Image Transfer and it's finally out!

 Lesley is doing a great giveaway that I'd like to share with you!

She is giving away a copy of the Creative Image Transfer book and TAP Transfer Artist Paper. 

That means you can create any number of the awesome projects in her new book. And I have to say that I am very excited to try out some of these projects myself! They are so incredibly creative, using image transfers in ways I had never even considered.

To enter just go to Lesley Riley's blog by clicking here. Promotion dates are August 6-10.

The work shown below is the one that I have included in the book. Using the TAP is really easy and there are step by step instructions for every project!

Have fun!

Be Careful Where You Tread
6x6
encaustic mixed media with TAP

Hello again!

Nostalgia 24x18 encaustic mixed media with pine bark

 I have so much new work to share! Obviously because I haven't updated in a very,very long time! I am still here and I'm still busy making lots of artwork. I have been considering the fact that the whole reason I started this blog was to hold myself accountable. I hadn't really produced my own work for years and this blog definitely served it's purpose. If someone would have told me that I would be exhibiting in galleries when I began this blog I never would have believed them.

This Way 12x12 encaustic mixed media with scrap wood and shells

 So while I do plan on posting here again I do believe it's time for a blog overhaul. New name, new look, new purpose! I just don't know when I'll be able to do it. I should have done it this past summer because now I'm looking at a new school year starting very soon. It will have to wait a little longer, but first, I think I need to just start posting more regularly again.

Pining 14x11 encaustic mixed media

Since my last post I have traveled a lot. I went back to Italy with students, visited family in Nashville, and vacationed with friends and family in Mexico. And if you can't tell, the color of the ocean is still influencing my work. But for now I am going to soak up as much of these fleeting summer days as I can. 

Venice Italy March 2014

Empyrean Sea

Empyrean Sea
14x11
encaustic mixed media, cheese cloth and puka beads

 Well I haven't posted two days in a row since I started this blog!

With the long weekend I've indulged in some extra time in the studio that I have missed so much recently. I finished another piece today and thought I'd post it along with photos of the plane ride that I was thinking of when I was making this. Instead of a helicopter tour we opted for a plane tour when we visited Kauai. Many people don't realize that the center of the island has a huge canyon with intensely red dirt complemented with lush green fauna. Aside from feeling totally nauseous by the end of the ride, it was well worth it for the gorgeous photos of the island.

Empyrean Sea detail

Coast of Kauai

Waimea Canyon

Fall

Hana
16x12
encaustic and pine bark

 Well the beginning of the school year is always a whirlwind! I finished the piece above a few weeks ago and as you can tell Hawaii is still a continuous influence. I finally made it back into the studio again today. I have been anxious to get back into the studio because ,I am happy to say, the piece from my last post sold at the show! In fact it had a red dot on it before the doors even opened because the owner of the gallery purchased it. I was extremely shocked but also totally flattered.

One of the reasons the beginning of the school year was so busy is because of the fundraiser I was working on for the art club. We did a color run and it was fantastic! If you ever get the chance to participate in one I highly recommend it. This is the photo of the color throw we did at the end of the event. So much fun and we  raised enough money to fund everything we wanted to do plus give a percentage to the local food pantry.

Hello Again!

Obviously a lot has happened since I posted last! So I thought I'd inundate you with photos of my most recent works. I finally made a website too so stop by and take a look.
http://lauralarue.weebly.com/

Polu Kai
encaustic mixed media
18x6

I finally entered an all encaustic show for the first time at a gallery in Chicago. For me this is a big deal! To finally feel confident enough and commit to something that is outside of the suburban area I live in. The piece above is the one that I submitted so we'll see what happens.

Torn Veil
encaustic mixed media
16x12

Torn Veil detail

I really wanted to experiment with the torn book pages as a 3D element instead of just using them flat on the surface. I will definitely have to come back to this again some time because I really want to do more with them. The possibilities for using the paper three dimensionally is very intriguing to me.

Thaw
encaustic mixed media
12x12

 The one above and below were inspired by the piece Autumn's End which was in my last post. Inspired by the seasons and the view out of my studio window, this is a theme I will be coming back to a lot I feel!

Solstice
encaustic mixed media
6x6

I also just got back from a trip to Hawaii! So I will leave you with this photo of an incredible hidden red sand beach that we went to in Maui! This view is from the cliff wall we had to climb down in order to reach it. You can bet that I will be using this as fuel for new work to come!

Encaustic Workshop with Jenny Learner

Autumn's End
encaustic mixed media
6x6

Last week my school hosted a 3 day long encaustic workshop led by Jenny Learner! Each day a different group of students from each of the three high schools in the district got to participate. It was really a wonderful experience with so much creative energy flowing. It was very inspiring to see and really made me want to get back into the studio more. The image above is what I made at the workshop. I learned so many new things from Jenny.

There she is teaching students how to monoprint with wax. She really is so creative and uninhibited with her artwork. She is also very kind and was so patient with the students. It was a lot of work teaching about 85 people all about encaustic for 3 days straight! You can check out her website here. She teaches workshops all the time too so if you are interested you should consider signing up for one.

 Here's a picture of a group working hard on their projects in my classroom. It will definitely take some time to scrape up all the wax drippings. But in a way I love to leave stuff like that around the room because it always will remind me of the wonderful time spent at the workshop.

 Lots of different mark making tools.

And below are some examples of student work. I was so impressed with their projects after only one intensive day of encaustic instruction.

Well that's it for now! I know I haven't been posting much but I haven't forgotten about you! I hope to be back before the holidays.

New Work

Rooted
encaustic
11x14

So this piece was a while in the making. I began this piece the day after my last post back in August. I will spare you another lengthy apology for abandoning you yet again for so long! This time of year always seems to be busy as we scurry to fit in things that we know we won't be able to do in the winter months. Not to mention school and all the after school activities, and dances, and homework, and I could go on and on.

But there is nothing like a deadline to light the fire! With the last 4th Friday of the year coming up soon I really wanted to be able to submit at least one new piece that wasn't part of my featured artist exhibit from August. 

I have been trying to make my textures more subtle and veiled. To try and work with the colors and the wax rather than trying to fill every last square inch with tactile features. The transfer on the top right kind of represents a moment of weakness, or self indulgence. I have seen these types of patterns everywhere recently and I must guiltily admit that I love them! So I succumbed to their popularity and cliche and used them in my artwork too! This is also a larger piece for me as well which I really enjoy. I know I shouldn't think this way but I feel like it's more legitimate when it's bigger. I will still work on small pieces but I feel more satisfaction completing work on a larger scale than on a smaller piece. I'm really not sure why that is though.

I can't believe it's over

 Last night was amazing! It was quite a rush for me to see how many friends and family showed up to support me and see my artwork. I owe you all so much and I am truly grateful to have such a wonderful network of people in my life.

 I know these pictures are terrible but they are the only ones I took! They really do not do any justice to the  gallery or the display. I did end up selling the three pieces in the first photo to a coworker/friend. I was shocked that she bought three pieces!

 This is a better photo of the upstairs area where my exhibit was. After seeing this display I have decided that I am definitely going to try to make larger pieces. I had 17 encaustics on display, all very tiny looking on the large walls. But it did draw people in for a closer look.

The place was packed too. The final count was over 600 people!

It really was a wonderful and memorable evening. Thank you to everyone who helped me out with all the things I needed in order to get ready for the show. 

I love you all!

This is it!

I am very excited for tomorrow! I cannot believe that it's here already. The day I have been looking forward to/ fretting about all summer.I really can't wait to see the display. I had to work during the set up for the show so I won't be seeing it until the opening tomorrow night.  I will post pictures from the show as soon as I can for you to see. 

Happy Friday!

(a day early)

More new work

It'll Heal
encaustic mixed media
5x7

Rise
encaustic mixed media
6x6

I actually finished these a couple of weeks ago but I have been busy with back to school stuff. The students come back on Monday already. Yikes! 

As you can see in these two pieces I experimented a little more with the punchinella. That is what I used to make the dotty texture. And I made some burnt paper pieces that I really liked so I incorporated them as well. I am also attempting to be a little more subtle with the use of texture.

I spent most of the day today finishing up all the framing of my artwork for the show. I need to submit all of it next Saturday so I'm in the home stretch finalizing the little details. 

Sorry for the short post but I just wanted to keep you up to date. 

I'll be back soon!

New encaustic work

Billets S'il Vous Plait
encaustic mixed media
6x6

Whirlwind
encaustic mixed media
8x10

Just a quick post to update you on some of my recent work. I have one more that is just about done ...and another one that is just started. I am quickly running out of summer free time to work on my artwork. School  starts very early this year with a back to work date for me of August 9th.

The piece above titled Billets Si'l Vous Plait (tickets please) has an entire background of tickets from our trip to Europe. Tickets for the buses in Florence, a piece of a ticket to the Louvre, a napkin with a drawing of the Ponte Vecchio, a train ticket from Paris to Milan...and I honestly don't remember what the others were for. Maybe taxi receipts? I also used punchinella for the first time in order to get the raised dots. It's actually sequin waste I used as a stencil for the wax.

The second work titled Whirlwind is the one you saw in the previous post. It has a map of Paris fused into the background on the left side and a receipt from Florence. This work was made just after my return and I really just wanted it to represent travel and the excitement surrounding our trip. I thought that the drawing fit perfectly for this theme to show yearning, the "leap" it took to follow through with the plans, and the surreal euphoria I felt at times during the trip.

Well, I'm off to pack for a weekend away with the kiddos!

Summer things

 I feel like summer is just flying by! 

It has been very hot and incredibly dry too. It has only rained twice for about 10 minutes in the past 6 weeks as you can tell by my straw-like grass. Because of vacations and the weather we just set up our patio furniture last weekend. Two sweaty days of staining and oiling...but it looks beautiful and now we can stare at it from our air conditioned house.

 I can tell you that my russian sage loves this weather and they are constantly covered in hundreds of honey bees from the hives in the farmers yard behind our house.  Can you find the bee in the photo? You can literally hear the bushes humming.

 I also just had to show you the cute daisies my mom bought me for my birthday. I'm so afraid to plant them in this weather though, so I think they will stay safely potted until the rain returns.

 Here's a snapshot of my creative mess making! I've been getting in a lot of studio time but I'm feeling the time crunch before my show in August. 

You can see my latest piece here inspired by my trip to Europe. I finally used the drawing of my daughter May too.

 I wanted to show you the interesting pinecones I picked up in Italy. I think they are from the umbrella cypress trees that grow everywhere in Italy. So unusual aren't they? At least they are to me!

And this is the pile of ephemera I saved from our trip. Maps of London and Paris, tickets to the Louvre, and Uffizi, metro tickets, and lots and lots of receipts. Unfortunately the carbon in the receipts make them turn black as soon as the heat gun is on them. I tried just painting the wax right over them but then the ink totally vanishes, so I might have to find a different use for them instead of using them in my encaustics.

Enjoy your day!

Whirlwind

View of the Thames, the London Eye, and Big Ben from our hotel room.

Big Ben

Under the Arc De Triumph in Paris

The Eiffel Tower of course!

Replica of Michelangelo's David in it's original spot in the  Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

A perfect evening in Florence with a view of the Ponte Vecchio reflected in the Arno River

The Colosseum in Rome

A gorgeous view of Rome from inside the Colosseum

Whew! What a whirlwind adventure! Two weeks in Europe visiting all of the places we have wanted to go since we were both kids. My husband is an artist too so we spent most of our trip seeing the most famous artwork and architecture in London, Paris, Florence and Rome. I'm still in awe that I actually was able to visit these places in person. Artwork that I've studied for years and have only seen in books and pictures are burned in my own memory now. The Mona Lisa, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon, the statue of David, the Birth of Venus by Botticelli, the Trajan Column, the Trevi Fountain....the list could go on for many pages!

Everything was so beautiful that practically every photo turned out like a post card. There were a few places that cameras were not allowed like in the Sistine Chapel and in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence so I am going over it in my mind repeatedly so I don't forget a single moment. Actually I am desperately trying not to forget   anything at all.

Best of all this trip has refueled my creativity. I have so much material to use and ideas that are waiting to be visualized. This was truly the trip of a lifetime and you will definitely be seeing it's influence in my new artwork.