Taking my Encaustic Teaching to the Next Level

I'm incredibly excited to share a milestone in my encaustic journey....I have officially completed and passed R & F Handmade Paints Advanced Teaching: Encaustic for Educators training.

While I have been teaching encaustic workshops for many years, this intensive gave me the opportunity to formally deepen and refine my teaching practice within the R&F Paints professional framework.

Held at the beautiful McTavish Academy of Art on Vancouver Island, Canada, this intensive brought together an inspiring group of artists from different backgrounds and places, creating an incredibly generous environment for sharing knowledge, techniques, ideas and experiences.

I had the privilege of learning from "R&F's handmade Paints", very own marketing manager/ core educator and artist in her own right, Dietlind Vander Shaaf as well as Megan Mcdonald, from Crows nest art studios, a fellow Canuck, artist and also core encaustic educator, both highly respected artists and educators within the R&F community and further afield.

The training went well beyond simply demonstrating encaustic techniques.  It explored the many considerations involving high quality encaustic education; from developing workshop structures and syllabi to demonstrating techniques clearly, troubleshooting, understanding materials and safety, and creating an environment where students can develop their own artistic voice.

Speaking, for me, in large audience type groups has always been a struggle but over the last 2 years I have been presented with these types of public speaking opportunities that it would have been crazy to walk away from due to a silly fear.  I have pushed myself to do these engagements and they are slowly becoming easier....gulp.  

I believe that when we teach we have the responsibility to pass on sound technical knowledge, best encaustic practices, while still encouraging experimentation, curiosity, and individuality but still within the rulebook encaustic parameters.  The goal isn't for students to reproduce what we make but to give them knowledge and confidence to find their own artistic voice.

Completing the R&F training means my years of experience as an encaustic artist are now formalized by completing the R&F teacher training certification.

I am very proud to be the ONLY New Zealand artist to have completed R&F's handmade paints encaustic teacher training!

That connection to R&F is something I'm very excited to bring back to New Zealand and add to my art practice, Studio Reset on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand.

The week also gave me the chance to meet 9 other truly inspiring and fabulous artists that I can now call friends. Amongst them were:  Sheila Sullivan, Sharon Gottula, Adia Van Buren, Dana Seegers, Maggie Chow, Jane Monteith, Jennifer Young, Tamara Sutton and Bess French.  The conversations, kindred spirits, exchange of ideas were every bit as valuable as the formal training itself.  Would you believe amongst us there we even several other garlic growers?!  Maybe some strange unknown association between Allium and Apis Melifera, besides them both starting with A.

I came home energized, inspired and full of new ideas.  It was a 100% inclusive and supportive group that cared about each others successes and art journeys.  Most importantly, this experience has strengthened my commitment to creating thoughtful, technically sound and inspiring encaustic artworks and education here in New Zealand.

And for those of you that are asking.......

YES-I'm now looking at expanding my workshops to include more in-person encaustic experiences through art schools and centers as well as hosting longer encaustic art retreats from my home studio where you can utilize our beautiful Airbnb's to stay onsite.  More to come on this later.

So this isn't the beginning of my teaching journey.  It feels more like the next chapter.  Watch this space.  There is lots of wax destined ahead.