The Hive Encaustic Studio is located in Studio 216 in the historical Alton Mill Arts Centre. The Alton Mill is home to some 25 studio artists, galleries, a heritage museum, café and unique shops.
The Hive is the studio of artist Karen Brown offering encaustic workshops, open studio time, original artwork and so much more. Karen Brown is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist whose work can be found in collections throughout North and South America and Europe. She works primarily in mixed media painting using photography and encaustic. Her work is often motivated by her relationship with nature. Encaustics is an ancient beeswax- based paint which is applied and heated to create rich layers of unique depth and luminosity. The process is studio intensive but starts outdoors with experience, photography and drawing providing the visual and emotive references that come back into the studio to be created. The organic nature of the beeswax- based paint becomes a multilayered surface for both the visual and tactile senses. Substrates can be recycled, repurposed found materials which create earth-friendly, karma-friendly, soul-friendly pieces of artwork.
Encaustics is an ancient art form that involves fusing layers of beeswax based paint using various heating techniques. It is kept molten on a heated palette, applied to a surface and reheated to fuse the paint into a durable, archival surface. Encaustic medium can be used as is or combined with pigment such as oil paint or powdered pigments. As the layers are built up, objects can be embedded in the wax and gouging techniques can be incorporated to create shapes and designs. Colours are used simultaneously to add depth and beauty to the work.
Encaustics is a unique medium which allows participants to explore their creativity while effectively engaging the senses.
It is both deeply therapeutic while at the same time promoting a sense of play.
