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Thanks to everyone who stopped by during Open Studios 2007. Your questions are perennially interesting to me. Last year’s FAQs are listed here. This year’s top question was about pigment followed closely by some concerned questions about health and safety.

HOW DO YOU “DYE” YOUR BEESWAX?
Encaustic medium functions alternately as a binder, a clear glaze and a colored paint. One way to add color to encaustic medium is to add chips of oil stick. Oil sticks are paint sticks made of stiff oil paint in a waxy binder – kind of like big, juicy oil pastels. They’re great to work with because they’re easy to handle and measure. (Just slice a sixteenth to a half an inch off an oil stick and you’ve got plenty of pigment to tint an ounce or more of wax.) Some painters use oil paint from the tube. This works fine too if you don’t mind dealing with the mess. Dry pigments are a seductive but dangerous third option. I avoid them altogether although it’s possible to use them safely with proper protection of skin and lungs (you need a ventilation system with a hood). Always use gloves when handling pigments.

I HEARD ENCAUSTIC IS TOXIC. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY?
Yes there are health and safely issues related to encaustic paint. But no, it’s not a dangerous medium if you use it properly. Here are some safety tips to practice while using encaustic paint.

• Keep your paint cool. Never heat encaustic medium above 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Above that temperature and it starts to break down into bad-to-breathe compounds (aldehydes and such). But below that temperature it stays intact. Never melt beeswax over an open flame. Untempered beeswax melts around 140 degrees. The flash point of beeswax (the point at which its vapors can burst into flame) is around 490 degrees.

• Use proper ventilation. You need a source of fresh air coming into your studio and a fan to draw fumes out. Think about the way air flows through your studio. Position yourself upwind of fumes.

• Educate yourself about pigments. Some pigments are scientifically proven to be toxic, even carcinogenic to humans. (Cadmium anyone?) Avoid or use with caution. I’ve banned all known carcinogens from my studio. The city of Tucson has an excellent health and safety data sheet about artists’ pigments. Read it and adapt.

DO YOU TEACH?
Yes! I teach private lessons and small workshops by request. Please email me for more information. I’d be delighted to share what I know with you.