From the Editors

Many contemporary artists are interpreting ancient art techniques in fresh and fascinating ways. Fayum portraiture, fresco combined with encaustic, archaic scientific texts as collage elements, and iconic natural objects (feathers, stones, and twigs) combined with beeswax are just a few ways that artists draw from our collective ancient roots to create a dialogue between the past and the present.

Michelle Belto's artistic focus on the interplay of time and memory is evident in her use of wax, creating complex surfaces that evoke formative eras and remembered experiences. Lora Murphy adapts the essence of Fayum painting to modern practices, focusing on encaustic wax and egg tempera techniques fused with contemporary materials and methods. Amanda Pierce, a CreeMétis encaustic painter and sculptor, seeks out items that represent her roots and culture for integration into her encaustic paintings and sculptures. Rhonda Raulston frequently incorporates the hand-drawn diagrams and notations from great scientific minds of the past in her work, connecting to their quest to understand the natural world and our relationship to it. Bettina Egli Sennhauser combines encaustic with Renaissance fresco methods to create her innovative surfaces that speak visually in an abstract language about what is around her and how she relates to it.

We hope you enjoy reading this Ancient Roots issue of Wax Fusion and perhaps feel a pull toward forgotten traditions and practices, reflected in the shapes, textures, or symbols that emerge in your art. And, as always, we appreciate your feedback. Please contact us at WaxFusion@International-Encaustic-Artists.org with comments, questions, ideas, and suggestions. While this journal exists to serve the needs of IEA members, it is also free and available to the public. You are welcome to share this journal with anyone interested or working in the visual arts, looking for information on encaustics, or beginning to explore the world of encaustics.

S. Kay Burnett

Lyn Belisle

Paul Kline

Elliptical Orbits by Rhonda Raulston

Encaustic and alcohol ink on panel, 8 x 10 in