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| Beekeeping, Encaustic | |
Monday was Honey Day! A big, grand workday. It’s the day we extract all our honey from the comb. This year’s Honey Day was similar to last year’s which you can read about here. Honey Day is also the day I get my year’s supply of beeswax for encaustic painting. It’s the pristine, new cappings wax that we peel from the comb that makes the most transparent, versatile encaustic paint. The photo at the top of this post shows a frame of honey sitting at the uncapping station. See the thin white layer of wax? Those are cappings. The photo below shows the cappings being removed by our friend, Ed, using the hot plane. (Skillfully done, Ed!) The hot plane is a heated blade that peels the wax back in a single, dripping sheet (when all goes well). Imagine a hot knife slicing through butter. See that amber honey under the plane? Hmmm… yum.
P.S Special thanks to all the wonderful FRIENDS who volunteered on Honey Day. Your help was indispensable. We love you. | |
