The word encaustic comes from the Greek word “enkaustikos” which means “to burn in”. The oldest surviving piece is from the 1st century B.C. The process is an ancient technique involving melted beeswax, damar resin and pigment applied in layers which are like translucent veils. Color and textures are worked with brushes, hands, knives, scrapers and other tools. Each layer of wax is fused to the ones beneath with the fire of a blowtorch.

 

While working with encaustic, my core being as a romantic and a wordsmith come into play. I see my images as visual poetry and the exploration of the interplay of the senses layered with scrims of images and color. Emotionally romantic and sensory experiences as well as sensitivity towards nature and the planet, filter through my daily activities and work in my studio-as a woman and as an artist. Constantly studying poets, music, architecture, visual artists and philosophy, I seek to create images that resonate with my history as well as modern; the rare and the common.

 

The fusion of each layer of wax to the layers beneath with the fire of a blowtorch helps me physically and emotionally build the story I am telling-or the statement I am making- with each of my pieces. Each step of the process is part of the building blocks of memories and imprints in my life and subconsciousness. Like weaving, the warps and wefts of realties and dreams are literally fused together into wax images.

 - Lisa Bick