Painting with the ancient, luminous medium of encaustic wax offers unlimited creative possibilities. Encaustic medium is a combination of beeswax and damar resin with pigment added to the medium for color. Encaustic painting is a process of applying the heated wax onto a substrate and fusing layers of wax with a heat gun or torch. Review of the history, safety practices, and basic skills of encaustic painting will be covered through conversation and demonstrations with hands-on practice. We will review various encaustic tools and materials, and multiple techniques for achieving lines, texture, and composition when working with encaustic paints. Participants will explore the medium and be encouraged to move beyond the basics into exploration of layering techniques and collage work. We’ll cover individual creative goals and discuss studio set up for encaustic painting as well.