Claire is no stranger to Heart Handmade, she graciously invited us to explore her unbelievable skills with needles and floss on
Heart Lab last month. So now it's time we get to know her a little better...
“You’re going to hand-sew an anatomical drawing? That’s insane! It will take far too long it takes you ages drawing them!” and that did it for me really, I thought it’s a little odd but I think it’ll work.
1. How did you come up with the name xfreshbatteryx?
I actually cannot remember why I thought to carry it over to be my online art-alias as it’s actually my screenname for a No Doubt Fan Forum! I’m a huge fan and it’s a lyric from one of my favourite songs ‘New’ “Like a fresh battery I’m energised by you” but I’m just attached to that expression now! I love it!
2. I know that you were part of a show last summer. Has your work been recently shown in any galleries? What advice could you give aspiring artists on the best way to get noticed and invited to be part of a gallery exhibition?Unfortunately it hasn’t! Although I have been involved with a few things on the internet recently,
The Shiny Squirrel for one, which is a wonderful site that promotes and sells work by up and coming artists and designers! I was also part of
poppytalk's greenpop!
GET ONLINE: I would say the best way to try and get noticed is to have a blog! As mine brought me many opportunities.
NETWORK: Also just put yourself forward for anything and everything. Write to galleries that you’d like to show at, contact blogs who might feature your work! It also helps to have a good network of other artists to talk to be it online or offline. One friend in particular -
Camilla Stacey has been really good for me, thanks to her flickr I got a bit more attention and she invited me to be part of a group show. If you’re a student/ex-student I’d recommend grouping together with some classmates and trying to get some kind of group together for exhibiting as two heads are better than one!
3. How did you come up with the concept of embroidering organs and planes and displaying them in embroidery hoops?Oddly my mother asked me this exact same question last night and I think the answer is somewhat long-winded, so this is my best attempt at condensing it…
The organs as a subject matter came first. I was given a selection of texts for a project at University and our work had to stem from that. I selected a text called ‘a brief reflection on test tubes’ that discussed the human body in parts and I thought ah-ha! Organs! That led to around 6 months of work that was just drawings with slightly more experimental/texture based embroidery.
In my final year of university I decide to keep on the same theme of Organs but became more interested in anatomical drawings and literally sewing them. I think the thing that did it for me was when a housemate said in response to me drawing one
“You’re going to hand-sew an anatomical drawing? That’s insane! It will take far too long it takes you ages drawing them!” and that did it for me really, I thought it’s a little odd but I think it’ll work. The frames were literally some that I had lying around from a bunch of sewing stuff I inherited from my great-grandmother and I was just using them as embroidery hoops! Though I swiftly decided I had to find more of these things and that my work had to stay in them.
Overall I think it started as me trying to cram everything I’d ever considered doing into one project. I like frames, a touch of humour, brushing on feminism, I like old-fashioned silhouettes, I like bright colours, beads, sequins, organs and most of all I love sewing.
The aircraft’s are a new inspiration. I moved back to my parents after my studies and we live fairly close to Biggin Hill Airport, which is a airport for local aircraft use. I went up there and had a look one day and then went and looked up military aircraft drawings and recognition guides and found the drawings have them same technicality that anatomical one do. I guess I have a bit of a soft spot for scientific drawings…
4. How long have you been doing this for and how did it all begin?When I started college I didn’t really know what to take… so I picked art and graphics! I’ve been studying art as a student for the last 6 years (college and university combined!) I graduated University in June 2007 so I suppose I’ve been doing what I’m currently doing for around eight months. Everything is a little new to me, I feel a bit like a fresher. Also my studying left me out of pocket so I juggle working full-time with continuing my practise!
5. What tool(s) can't you live without?
Lots of different needles and threads, sequins, embroidery hoops (particularly flexi-hoops), Muji pens and those dressmakers pins with the coloured bobbles on top! I even have some with hearts on! They are awesome!
6. If you had to choose one piece, what would be your all-time favourite and why?Ohhh. That’s really difficult. I’m really rather partial to my ‘golden child’ piece I suppose. I’ve even re-made it a few different ways, with a pink satin for the shiny squirrel and in a square frame for the Abracadabra show. I imagine it’s mostly to do with it being so shiny with all the metallic thread and gold sequins…
7. Who is your idol/current craft-crush?I have a few actually.
Emily Barletta,
Suzanne Carlsen,
Claire Coles. I was also particularly excited this month as
Lizzie Finn’s website was updated, she does amazing mainstream/advertising embroidery type pieces.
8. What are the first 3 blogs that you read every day?
Poppytalk, It’s my home page, so it’s the first thing I see when I start the Internet!
Mochimochi Blog - Amazing free knitting patterns!
ICiNG - Because it’s fun!
And of course heart handmade!
9. What can we expect to see from you and xfreshbatteryx in the future?Hopefully a lot more aircraft pieces and hopefully some kind of exhibition involving them. I’ve also been making some little aircraft brooches! Also come October I’m very excited as I’ve been accepted on to an MA course in Textiles, so hopefully my work will be progressing with some more technical knowledge and hopefully the opportunity to mix some printing techniques with my embroidery!
Don't forget to check out Claire's
blog and this
blog +
Flickr gallery + shops at
xfreshbatteryx.etsy.com and at
The Shiny Squirrel.
Thanks Claire!!
Step 2: Cutting
All steps below should be done in a well ventilated area.
3. You need to decide what colours (if any) to mix into your wax treatment in advance. You must use oil paint to apply colour to your wax (oil and wax mixes together, wax and water do not). You really only need very little oil paint and it's much better to apply several coats of your encaustic treatment than to have a darker coloured wax (because after a few strokes, your work will become too opaque and the collage underneath will not be visible, unless this is the look you are going for).
To prepare the oil paint, take a small piece of paper towel and fold it in half (double thickness). Draw one small vertical line of paint in every single color that you'll be using. After 10-15 minutes (longer is much better), you'll see a golden stain around your oil paint colours. This is a good sign, it's actually excess oil that you don't need nor want in your encaustic mix.
tip: I love to add white paint to my beeswax, I use it most, but you should know that Titanium white and Zinc white are quite different. Titanium white is often a truer white, while zinc white has a hint of yellow and can give your painting a cloudy and uneven finish (which you might like, so go ahead and experiment!)
5. Melting your wax is a fine science. The best way I discovered, is to use a counter top electric pan/skillet that has temperature settings. If you don't have a temperature setting on your electric skillet you will not know what approximate temperature your wax is being heated at and this can be very dangerous. The smaller the skillet the less energy you'll use. So there is no need to spend a lot, you can easily buy a small skillet for less than $40 or buy a used one. NEVER use your skillet for food preparation once you've used it for encaustic painting. You should melt your wax at a temperature between 200-250°F. Sometimes I keep it closer to 250°F in the beginning and reduce it to between 200-225°F once melted and while I am working with it. You can always bring the temperature up close to 250°F again for a few minutes if your wax begins to get thicker or harden.
You will need one can per color, plus one extra. The extra can is for melting uncoloured beeswax (always helpful to have).
tip: You want to use clean cans, my favourite are tuna cans. Smaller cans fair better, remember that heat needs to travel up, so wider and shorter cans are better than taller cans. Do not use cans that have a colour coating (white is very common) on the inside as this coating often flakes off with heating and can ultimately contaminate your wax (a big no no, you will be quite sad). Make sure that all of the paper and glue on the outside of the can are completely cleaned off (warm water helps speed the process along).
6. Once your temperature is set, fill your cans (at most half full to start) with small pieces of purified beeswax and transfer the cans into your skillet.
Wait for the beeswax to completely melt before adding colours.
7. To add colour you need to use your encaustic painting brushes. Brushes for encaustic CANNOT be synthetic as synthetic brushes will melt (and release fumes). I use hog hair brushes. They are the cheapest non-synthetic brushes. Although I would never eat pig, I have to tell you that your encaustic brushes should last a long long time, the wax will also help preserve the hairs so you shouldn't have to buy many brushes at all. You do need one brush per encaustic colour. The other eco-conscious aspect to encaustic painting is that there's no need to ever clean brushes. So no water, soap or toxic cleaning products needed/wasted! To add colour, once your wax is melted, take your brush and dip it into a very small amount of oil paint from your paper towel and mix it into a can of melted beeswax.
If you do spill wax on your skillet, ONLY use non-synthetic fiber (an old cotton tea towel, cotton t-shirt, etc.) to clean (soak up) the wax. Synthetic fibers (i.e. polyester) and blends will also melt in your skillet (yikes!).
Even melted wax stiffens quite quickly, so you will need to repeat this process many a times. Dip your brush and stroke over your collage, dip, stroke, dip, stroke, etc. until you have a few layers of wax. On paper, I usually do 3-5 layers of wax, but this is completely dependent on your colour and the effects that you wish to achieve.
9. Once you have completed applying the wax treatment, turn off your skillet.
10. To complete your encaustic process you need to seal your wax, which is often done with a heat gun (I have to admit that I have been known to use my hairdryer at times, talk about reuse). Again, ensure that you are in a well ventilated area before you begin. You want to turn the heat gun to a low setting (NOT high). DO NOT work on a carpeted or other flammable surfaces, such as newspaper, etc. You want to gently run the heat over your encaustic painting. Using circular motions (working within a small area at a time) and keeping at least 5 inches away from the surface of the wax coating (DO NOT touch the wax). As soon as the wax coating in an area begins to look moist (evidence of the wax melting) then move to another area of your painting. This process usually takes me 5 minutes, but it is completely dependent on the size of your piece. Be careful where you set your heat gun after you are finished, as even on a low setting it is going to be VERY hot, so leave it in a safe place within sight to cool.
11. Voila! Your eco-conscious encaustic collage is complete.
Please be sure to send me an email mahamarija[at]gmail[com]com if you have any questions and because I would love to see your work! For more of my work, please visit my *new Etsy shop.
Recommended book:
The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax