The Eye of the Sky - Encaustic Art: Oracle of the Bee 2012

Oracle of the Bee 2012 (Copyright J.Inglis)

Today I am meditating on the colour BLUE as I prepare for our next Encaustic Art workshop (painting with beeswax). The colour Blue is the theme for this step into the living breathing moving art medium that I associate so much with liquid energy and the element of water. And so it has led me to dreaming of all of the ways the full spectrum of this colour inspires me. As a child I spent most of my time gazing at or into the sea. A favourite pastime was to drift into reverie in the enormous rockpools off the coast of Catherine Hill Bay or to lie in the dark and cool sea caves of Caves Beach and watch the sea swirl in. Blue is often used to represent the colour of the unconscious, dreaming, a colour that creates a sense of calm and peace. Blue is also the colour connected to the Third Eye Chakra and is beloved to the Ancient Egyptians and many more of the ancient Mystery Schools.

Encaustic literally means 'to burn in' and is an artform that blends pigment with beeswax to create luminous paintings that never fade or lose their vibrancy. It is believed that this ancient art form was created by the Greeks who painted portraits & famously, masks to adorn mummies in Ancient Egypt - found intact & unblemished when they were discovered. The Ancient Greeks were also known to paint large blue eyes on the front of their ships and sea vessels in encaustic wax to ward off any evil - I love imagining the sight of those ships heading out to sea.

Here are my Full Fathom Five Blue inspirations today:

1. Photo taken on our honeymoon inside the Grotto Azzurro in Capri, Italy on - this image is not retouched in any way, these luminous blue waters look very much like the 'inner light' we create when painting with wax.

2. Julianna Barwick: The Magic Place - Blue music and otherworldly watery places.

3. The Piano by Jane Campion - the will of nature versus the will of man. Diving deeply into this film at the moment. Jane Campion has mentioned that the blue light in this film was to represent the unconscious, the deeper world within.

4. Twin Peaks by David Lynch - I have always loved the mood & blue glow of this series, where dreams and reality merge into one.

5. The art of Marc Chagall - here are his incredible stained glass windows.

Details: I'll Be Your Mirror - Encaustic Oracle Art Workshop

Saturday 10th March 10.30am - 1pm

Williamstown $45

Painting with Light - Encaustic Bliss

Full Fathom Five - Exploring Blue with Encaustic Art