Earth and Fire: Blue S2

These piece is made of 85% abaca fiber handmade paper. When the piece has dried it is painted with gesso on all sides to seal the paper. The surface is then troweled with joint compound in the top half creating mostly a texture and in the bottom half a more cracked surface. While the joint compound is still wet, pieces of wood stove fired copper are embedded into the joint compound, they adhere naturally. The pieces are then sanded and the bottom half is copper leafed, painted with deep blue acrylic, which is then rubbed off. This technique enhances the cracks and texture it also creates a aged effect. The top half is painted with sage and golden colors.Over the painted surface, encaustic is used to create a deep rich and semi translucent look with the rust colored dry pigments underneath. Layers of colors and paint seem to float on top of one another. The encaustic can be buffed with a dry cloth to create a more polished look every six months or so.

The use of handmade paper for the canvas of the piece gives an organic feel to the piece and the added benefit of keeping the work very light for hanging. This piece weighs about three pounds.

The piece is wired and hung without a frame. Shown on a black background.