encaustic: trials to find "my way" in encaustics

Encaustic Medium to be written as EM

this idea from: Wax and Paper book by Michelle Belto

I love her work and ideas, one worry though for the health conscious, the "rigid foam core boards" she uses under the paper;
I apply lots of heat when I play with the encaustic medium, it seems to me there might be an issue with fumes, if and when the heat transfers to the foam, toxic fumes?
I have decided to leave the foam board for non Encaustic works, just to be safe

Print glued to base, encaustic medium (EM) layer, masking tape layered in grid (make sure the EM is at least a day old, otherwise some wax might come off when tape is removed)

White EM applied, more EM layers

This is my check how transparency works on EM

an idea from my Eco dye sample's lovely texture

Marks made with all sorts of tools, oil paint for staining and stylus for filling in ridges

my own print as background, glued on art paper, marks hammered in, oil paint to stain, and hoping for transparency of EM

colleague lent me some cogs and things, they are used in various ways to leave prints: positive, negative and trace, oil paint, oil sticks, EM with pigment and lots of fun play with heat

Love Jane Guthridges work.

Here is my trial with rice paper stripes, will take some practicing but is an intriguing idea

the next trial:

now here is a fascinating way to use EM and Shellac, on this work I used burning Shellac on only half the panel following lots of layers of different coloured EM

On the next panel, again lots of layered coloured EM finished with a Titanium white EM layer, Shellac was added and lit, adjustments can be made with the blowtorch.... all outside in a fire safe area of course