salvage yard

Reuse, Reduce & Recycle:
There are oh so many ways to save money. Starting a new medium can be overwhelming when you have to buy all the new materials. Remember, sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. The search can be as sacred as the painting process and in encaustics there are so many ways to be thrifty while treading-lightly on the environment. Here are a few tips to help you in your search for materials and tools.

The Hunt - Finding Collage and Mixed Media Materials:
Scour yard sales, thrift stores or go to auction houses and keep yours eyes peeled for; vintage fabric, magazines, vintage children’s books, wallpaper, gift paper, encyclopedias, old blue prints for image transfers, road maps, buttons, old door knobs and keys, broken watch or mechanical pieces. Also keep an eye out for interesting texture tools like forks, pottery, kitchen or dental tools. Also search www.Etsy.com to find unique handmade arts & craft supplies and vintage materials. Its a fun place to shop while giving your support to all the talented artists and craft people online.

Salvage Stores:
Take a trip to your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore or your wood salvage yard look for used plywood and building materials. This can be a cheap solution to making your own panels. Keep your eyes peeled for interesting pieces of wood, with neat notches, or an old door, or shutters that you might be able to mix and match into a new and unique canvas. Tip: Chop up a few different interesting pieces of wood, like an old door, shutters, barn board and piece them together into an interesting and unique panel for an inspiring painting surface.

Recycling Encaustic Paint Scraps:
When doing a lot of scraping in our work one tends to accumulate wax scraps. Reusing your encaustic wax scraps is easy, and effective way to tread-lightly. Set them aside as you go, when you have enough , simply melt and add colour. You can mix with other paints and make new colours out of them, or even a simple black or brown.

Repurposing Household Items:
Have a poke around your house, you never know what buried treasures you may find in an old junk drawer. Chances are you may just find your new favorite encaustic tool. Look for old pots and pans, lace, fabric. Etc..