by Erin Rigney

18"x44" encaustic on board

When not wandering the water’s edge on her visits home to Spring Lake, New Jersey, Erin can be found playing in the mountains of Carbondale, Colorado (near Aspen) with her husband and three children. Carbondale is a funky artists’ town and has been designated a Creative District by the state due to its vast number of creatives. Erin and her husband also own the award-winning graphic design firm Rainy Day Designs and are active members of the artistic community.

Encaustic is a Greek word meaning “to heat or burn in” (enkaustikos). Heat is used throughout the process, from melting the beeswax and varnish to fusing the layers of wax. Encaustic consists of natural bees wax and damar resin (crystallized tree sap). The medium can be used alone for its transparency or adhesive qualities or used pigmented. Pigments may be added to the medium, or purchased colored with traditional artist pigments. The medium is melted and applied with a brush or any tool the artist wishes to create from. Each layer is then reheated to fuse it to the previous layer.