From Wax to Collaboration: An Introduction to Studio Reset

Hi!  I'm Studio Reset aka Kim from New Zealand.

I fell in love with encaustic because of beeswax. 

But my journey took an unexpected turn. 

I began as an encaustic painter. The more I worked with the medium, the more fascinated I became with every ingredient that went into it. 

I wanted to understand my materials completely…….not just buy them, but know where they came from and how they behaved. That curiosity led me to study apiculture and begin keeping honeybees and harvesting my own beeswax so I could make my own encaustic medium from my own hives. 

At the time, I thought I was simply becoming more connected to my materials.

I had no idea those bees would eventually become my artistic collaborators. 

Working so closely with a colony changed the way I thought about making art. I watched thousands of tiny decisions become something extraordinary. Every comb they built was both functional and beautiful. It made me wonder: what would happen if I stopped asking the bees  only for their wax, and instead invited them into the creative process?  

That question became the beginning of my ApiSculpture practice.

Today I create sculptural frameworks that bees are invited to complete with their own natural architecture. My role is no longer to control every outcome. Instead, I design the conditions for the collaboration. The bees finish the work in ways I never could.

For me, that’s one of the most exciting lessons nature offers. We often think of the artist as the sole creator, but working alongside another species has taught me that creativity doesn’t always have to be about control. Sometimes it’s about curiosity, observation and trust.

Although many people now know me through my bee sculptures, I still see myself first and foremost as an encaustic artist.  

Encaustic taught me to appreciate the incredible qualities of beeswax….its luminosity, its ability to preserve history beneath translucent layers, and its willingness to record every decision the artist makes. Everything I do today grew from that foundation.

Along the way I’ve been fortunate to exhibit throughout New Zealand and Australia, speak publicly about my work; including an interview with Kathryn Ryan on RNZ and share my practice with audiences who are often surprised to discover that bees can become creative partners rather than simply producers of materials.

What continues to drive me is curiosity. Almost every new body of work I’ve made has begun with a simple question: What would happen if…?

What if I painted wax on this old chunk of metal instead of a canvas?

What if I made my own encaustic medium?

What if bees became collaborators instead of suppliers?

What if art could encourage people to look differently at one of the world’s most important pollinators?

Those questions continue to shape my practice today.

It’s a privilege to what I do and I will follow this selfled journey to creating a visual conversation about where encaustic can take us when we’re willing to let curiosity lead the way. 

Thank you.