Let’s be serious about having fun


For some reason I said “The only thing we should be serious about is having fun” on the first day of a five day encaustic painting workshop at Peter’s Valley, NJ. It became our mantra. Someone wrote it down and we stuck it on the dart board. It was a good one considering we were working in 90 degree weather, in an open air studio with heat guns and 200 degree palettes.

The Setting





The Studio





I have found that my favorite time in the teaching process is at the end of the class or workshop when the work goes up for ” Show and Tell”. (In these settings I don’t call it a critique.) I am always amazed, whether it is a one day, five day or eight week class, how each student’s work develops.

The work

Marcia Branca


Francine Levesque

Geralyn Robinson

Krista Svalbonas

Georgeann Blaha

Mary Ann Plummer

Kate English

Here are a few pieces I began while I was there.

And the two that were donated for the Peter’s Valley Sunday auction.