South Valley Studio

New Mexico Wax is on the move

Since my last posting, members have attended an encaustic demonstration at Artisan's and lecture--"The Mysterious Fayum Portraits," by Euphrosyne Doxiadis at the College of St. John's; a book signing Alyson Stanfield, author of "I'd Rather Be in the Studio:The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion;" and a gallery talk by Ellen Koment, whose one woman show is now on exhibit at Box Gallery, Santa Fe.

Members Susan Zimmerman
and Harriette Tsosie exhibited work at Wilder Nightingale Gallery in Taos.

(Susan Zimmerman's encaustic, left. Harriette Tsosie's encaustic, right)

Member Eliza Schmid will have work on exhibit beginning Friday at Santa Fe's Arte Bella Gallery with an opening reception from 5:00 - 7:00 PM. (Eliiza Schmid's encaustic, below)

Notes from the November 23 New Mexico Wax Meeting

New Mexico Wax artists met Sunday, November 23, 2008 at Paula Roland’s Studio in Santa Fe’s Westside Studio Compound. Members shared recent work and discussed two upcoming exhibitions; the July all member show at the Albuquerque Arts Alliance and an exhibition at Santa Fe's Zane Bennett Gallery later in the year. Contacts have also been made at the State Capitol with both the Governor's Gallery and the curator of the Capitol Art Foundation. Members are working with the Harwood Museum program in Taos and the Santa Fe Convention Center Gallery as well. As the group gains exhibition experience we would also like to mount a regional exhibition with the four Texas Wax groups: Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

The group decided not to incorporate as a 501 (c) (3) non profit or affiliate with International Encaustic Artists at this time.

Work is underway on a mission statement and blog spot.

The next meeting will be Sunday, December 14, hosted by Russell Thurston at his Santa Fe studio with assistance from Isabella Gonzales. They will demonstrate photographing encaustic work, from digital camera to computer printout. Russell will e-mail directions to his studio closer to the meeting time. The January 11th meeting will be hosted by Jackie Butler in her Lamy studio.

On concluding the business section of our meeting, Paula Roland demonstrated the technique and materials she has developed for making encaustic monoprints and talked about her work.

Harriette Tsosie, Founder

New Mexico Wax Founded

Wax artists throughout New Mexico have formed an organization called New Mexico Wax, whose purpose is to showcase their work through group exhibitions; to educate the public about wax as an artistic medium; and to share techniques and knowledge.

Members include artists living and working in New Mexico who use wax--whether hot or cold-- as their medium. Most member artists work with encaustic--wax pigmented with oil paint or pigment and fused with a heat source, such as a propane torch or heat gun.

New Mexico Wax members held their first meeting on Sunday, October 19th at Shutter and Brush, the Santa Fe studio of artist Teena Robinson. Approximately 16 artists attended and showed examples of their work.

The group's next meeting will be Sunday, November 23 at 1:00 PM at the Santa Fe studio of Paula Roland--www.paularoland.com

December's meeting will be Sunday, December 7th at 1:00 PM. It will be hosted by Russell Thurston--webmac.com/rdthurston--either at his Santa Fe studio or the Railyard's Zane Bennett Gallery. Thurston will talk about his work and demonstrate how to photograph encuastic, which typically has a highly reflective surface. Details to be announced.

Other upcoming encaustic events include:

Tuesday, October 23, 2008, 11:00 AM: Encaustic demonstration by Euphrosyne Doxiadis at Artisan's, 2601 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, NM. 505/954-4179. Dixiadis is author of "The Mysterious Fayum Portraits."

Wednesday, October 24, 2008, 3:15 PM: Lecture by Euphrosyne Doxiadis at St. John's College, 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca, Junior Commons Room, Santa Fe, NM. 505/984-6104

Friday, November 7, 2008, 5:00 - 7:00 PM: Opening of a one woman exhibition by Santa Fe encaustic artist and teacher Ellen Koment at the Box Gallery, 1611 A Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe. www.boxgallerysf.com Ellen will arrange a gallery talk about her work for New Mexico Wax members. Details to be announced.

For more information or to join the group, contact: Harriette Tsosie: hftsosie@earthlink.net

Encaustic Artists Chosen for Group Exhibit

A group of approximately 15 New Mexico encaustic artists who submitted a proposal to the Albuquerque Arts Alliance for a group exhibition in the Alliance's gallery have been selected by the Alliance to exhibit in July 2008.

The encaustic artists will hold their first organizational meeting on Sunday, October 19th, 2008 in Teena Robinson's Santa Fe studio. Agenda topics will include selecting a name for the group and for the exhibition, electing officers, scheduling studio visits and meetings, establishing regular communication for group members and planning additional group exhibitions.

It's not to late to join the group and/or the first exhibition. If interested, contact:
Harriette Tsosie at 505/587-0427 or e-mail me at hftsosie2earthlink.net