R&F Handmade Paints

Encaustic, the most permanent of all artists paints, has a future that we hold in our hands.  Its permanence is limited by the delicate environmental balance that is crucial for the honey bee population.  The bee population is decreasing at an alarming rate.  For companies like R&F that rely on these little amazing creatures, it is obvious how much we would be effected if they were to vanish.

For companies like Haagen Daz, it is not so obvious.  Bees pollinate one-third of the food we eat, many of these foods are included in their ice creams.  They have created this great website to make people aware of the importance of bees.  Click here to take a look around the Haagen Daz Honeybee website.  You can find out what is happening and find out how to help.  In addition, August is National Honey Bee Awareness month.  To help celebrate, they have created a video, entitled “Do the Honey Bee Dance“, which is an interpretation of the honey bee waggle dance.  Honey bees use this dance to communicate to hivemates which direction they must fly to reach a food source. 

Lets do what we can to help spread the word.  It is up to us to ensure that the honey bees flourish.

Honeybee photograph courtesy of Abelisto.

Last week the joint was jumpin’ as Russell Thurston came to town from Santa Fe to lead his advanced workshop, ‘Breaking the Rules’.  Russell shared a wealth of non-traditional techniques with participants from around the country, including working with dry pigments, painting on a variety of alternative surfaces, mixing media, and experimenting with different ways of heating the surface using irons and implements.

Russell’s solo show, Deus ex Machina, opened right on the heels of the workshop.  The show features an overview of recent works, some that are mandala-like patterns, others that have a more narrative thread.

Russell brought such excitement, generosity and good cheer to R&F - we miss him already!