PROVINCETOWN- The motto of this year's Sixth International Encaustic Conference is "All Waxing, No Waning" and from the sound of things, there will be no waning at this year's conference. Encaustic, for those of you who are not in the know, is the use of making art with a paint that has been mixed with beeswax and fixed with heat after its application. Some may see this as a fad or a novelty, but encaustic has been used as early as ancient Egypt. Artists like Jasper Johns used to make his own beeswax paints, but as of 20 years ago companies have been manufacturing beeswax paints to accommodate artists' needs. It's safe to say that encaustic is no passing fad and the International Encaustic Conference is a testament to that. The conference journey began with artist Joanne Mattera and her book The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax … [Read more...] about The International Encaustic Conference Hits Provincetown

by Sara Farizan BOSTON, MA- I have to admit something. Kindles/Reading tablets and their ilk frighten me. I know, one day I will probably have to use one, since bookstores are closing left and right, but there is something precious about holding a book in your hands. The feel, the smell, wondering who has read the book before you, or, if you're so lucky to have a first edition, to think about the history of that particular book and where it comes from. That is why I find the non-profit North Bennet Street School so fascinating. It is a school, founded on 125 years of tradition, that teaches age old basics to potential craftsmen/craftswomen in things like book binding, jewelry, violin making and repair, carpentry, jewelry making and repair, preservation carpentry and locksmithing and security technology. NBSS began as an industrial school for immigrants in 1885 teaching trades and … [Read more...] about Back to Basics at North Bennet Street School

The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University is hosting “101 Photographs for Freedom of the Press: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Reporters Without Borders,” an exhibition of works by over 60 MAGNUM photographers to support the worldwide initiatives of Reporters Without Borders in defense of freedom of the press from March 21 through April 22 at the main gallery at Lesley University, 700 Beacon Street, Boston. One of those participating photographers, Thomas Dworzak, who joined Magnum Photos in 2000 and became a full member of the organization in 2004, conducted an email interview with artscope managing editor, Brian Goslow. ARTSCOPE: Where are you and what are you working on? DWORZAK: Am back in the Caucasus again, mostly based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Just spent almost a year on and off with the Georgian troops in Afghanistan. ARTSCOPE: What made you choose this line of … [Read more...] about Exculsive artscope interview with Magnum photographer Thomas Dworzak