Harold loves the wax experience.

Wax painting brings joy to the elderly. Six years ago, the magic of wax painting with hot irons became my artistic focus. This process is a European method unlike the thick layers normally produced with wax and brushes that might be the more conventional method. What this allows is for someone to work with wax in a small space and not worry about fumes given off by pots of wax kept hot. It was not long after I began to work with wax that I taught this method and I have come to love the experience of bringing this art form to artist and non-artist alike. Encaustics was a process that stirred a new vitality in artists who had painted for years and it was a process that seemed to awaken a child like wonder in those who had not ever been into any art form. Perhaps it was my own age that when traveling I would go to 55 plus communities and end up giving classes and meet seniors who were into taking all sorts of classes. I began to notice the attraction seniors had to wax painting and how delightful it was for them to work with this media.

To bring it down to one person that comes to mind who has blossomed with the experience is Harold who took a class from me several months ago and wax put a smile back on his face. All of his life Harold was involved mentally as an attorney. Detached from this mental world he found himself becoming adrift without purpose. He did not have common activities to fall back on not unlike many who are retired. Wax painting has begun to lift his spirits in a powerful and deep way, giving him a purpose at a time when he was feeling adrift. Because he always loved reading, I have suggested his family and friends help him put a book together about his life. and how this new artistic adventure is bringing him a new zest for living. Perhaps you can see from his smile how delightful this experience has become for Harold.