What's In Your Toolbox?
We all know artists and makers tend to have a wealth of tools, gadgets, and doodads in their studios. Maybe they are tools you use, maybe they are tools you just like to look at, or maybe they are tools you use to make other tools. Most likely some of them reach further than products designed specifically for the medium you are working with, and we totally get it. It seems you never know when you will need a particular tool, so you have to be prepared.
We asked a stellar group of artists about the tools they find indispensable in their practice. Some of these are store-bought items and some are found objects. Artists hunt and look for whatever is needed to make the perfect line, scrape, brush mark, or whatever is required.
We begin with Lorraine Glessner. We highly recommend you check out the superb article Lorraine wrote in 2017: 5 Encaustic Tools I Can't Do Without. This line from her article says it all, "Of course, there are a lot more than five tools I use, but if I were stranded on a deserted encaustic island, these are the things I would want with me.”
Clover Mini Iron "Not only is the Clover Mini Iron an excellent little detail iron, but it is the ONLY tool I use to fuse collage and my horsehair drawings.”
Double-Sided Detail Scraper "The double-sided detail scraper is the tool I use the most. I have purchased dental tools, wax carving tools, Kemper clay shapers, wood carving tools, etc. and I rarely use them. This tool is extremely versatile and supplants most of the tools of it’s kind."
Ball Stylus "Originally designed for embossing into soft metal or paper, this tool is useful for many art projects. I love it for incising in the wax because it’s rounded end doesn’t cut into my board surface and chop it up like pointy tools do."
Sculpture House Encaustic Loop Tool "Possibly the best scraper ever invented, it works like a combination razor blade and the average clay scraper."
Next, we checked in with Leslie Giuliani. Leslie utilizes a wide array of tools in her practice and workshops, but homemade stencils are the one item that is essential in her toolbox. You can learn more about Leslie's stencils here.
Artist Jane Allen Nodine shared some of her favorite tools. These are easily accessible and so very useful.
Small foam paint roller "I use this on the hot box to roll hot wax and get a texture or to fill a large surface area.”
Shower squeegee from the Dollar Store. "I use this on the hot box to move hot wax around, make marks, and also for cleaning the box top."
Plastic tile setter tools used for grouting. "I get them by the dozen at Harbor Freight. I use these to scrape, burnish, make marks, etc."
Have you ever over-ordered show cards? Artist Jodi Reeb creates stencils out of recycled postcards leftover from exhibitions. The postcards have a nice thickness to create shapes with depth and the surface can be heated and wiped clean to be used many times.
Artist Sarah Rehmer uses repurposed items to make marks. "I tend to use things like screening, and industrial scrubbing material (gifted to me by a student). The silver looking screening is actually a large roll of ribbon I got at a big box store at the holidays, the more it gets pulls and snags it makes interesting marks. The marks are then filled back in with Pigment Stick.”
Artist and educator Caryl. St Ama is a huge fan of the Kemper Tool 212. "This is my all-time favorite tool. I use the loop for scraping and the end of it for burnishing. It’s a great tool for my workshops because it’s double duty. I have gone through a couple of them!"
We also love that Caryl repurposes carpet protectors, which are great for making incised marks.
We'd love to see what you are using in your studio! If you have any items you'd like to share with us and the community please comment on our Facebook post.