Adventures in Asheville

Last week I was in Asheville spending time with my talented and incredibly organized friend Erin Keane.  It was a mixed purpose trip designed all around art.  Oh joyous day!

Erin graciously modeled for me in the muddy woods, we had a photo walk in the River Arts District, and I got to take her innovative encaustic + bookmaking workshop.  





On the first day of Erin's 2-day workshop, fellow classmates Jacque Allen, Laurey Masterton, and I prepped wood boards, made image transfers, and finished up with some encaustic medium.

Jacque achieved some beautiful color on her pieces using the pastels combined with encaustic medium.

You know it's a serious workshop when the power tools come out... Notice Laurey's awesome knit beehive cap.  On the second day of the workshop, we drilled holes in our covers, hand tore pages for our books, and learned how to use the coptic stitch to bind them all together.

Erin had quite the selection when it came time to choose our thread to bind our books.

Here are the three books I created during the workshop. Although its definitely going to take some practice, this is a skill I would like to take the time to perfect. It turns out, a book with an encaustic cover is a delight to the senses. It is visually interesting, you can smell that lovely beeswax scent, plus it is a piece of art that the viewer will feel encouraged to touch.  

Thanks Erin for such a lovely art filled week and for being so generous with your time and knowledge!