October 2011 – anja studios

Posted on October 10, 2011October 14, 2011 by anjastudios — Leave a comment

Go Jets Go

What an exciting weekend it’s been. I am filled with so much pride. Most of you know that K. works for the Winnipeg Jets. He is the Director of Event Production, so ever since the announcement he has been busy preparing for the season. I have had many moments where I just giggled to myself at the fact that his dream of working for an NHL team has come true and better even for the Jets! I never experienced the old Jets as I was still living in Switzerland at the time, but it was always very obvious to me that Winnipeggers still loved their team and were still heartbroken over their loss after 15 years. It’s wonderful that the team is back and it’s wonderful that K. and I can be part of it.

It’s been a crazy summer. Busy, exciting and productive. I had sold my tickets for the preseason games as I didn’t want to spoil the experience of the home opener. I woke up yesterday and I was so excited that the day had finally arrived. I couldn’t wait to see what K. and his team had created for the home opener. I was especially excited to see the opening video. Check it out, it’s amazing. Also if you were at the game and got an inaugural game program, check out the article on K. Can you tell, I am very, very proud of him. Go Jets Go!

Ciao

Posted on October 10, 2011 by anjastudios — Leave a comment

Maternity photos

After a long break I finally took some pictures this Saturday. It’s been a while and my camera it’s still broken, but luckily I could use Amanda’s camera for the shoot. We had lots of fun taking her maternity photos. We played around with different outfits and set ups and I am really happy with how they turned out. It’s nice to be able to record such a wonderful time in somebody’s life, especially when it’s for somebody this close. Here are a few pictures of our shoot.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and ciao

Posted on October 1, 2011September 30, 2011 by anjastudios — Leave a comment

Encaustic painting

A while back I had gone to the WAG to see a local artist talk about encaustic painting. The presentation was fascinating and I couldn’t wait to try it out. I went ahead and ordered the materials I needed and for the last 8 months or so they have been staring at me in my studio. I have been feeling guilty about not having tried it out. Last Sunday I finally decided to give it a try. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I did enjoy the process. I am not happy with my first piece but I guess I should give myself a break and realize that the first piece isn’t going to turn out perfectly. I will make sure to give it another try sometime soon. Due to the fumes that you deal with while doing encaustic I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and I set myself up in my backyard on the deck. It was really nice to be outside on such a beautiful day and play with paint or I guess wax in this case.

I thought I would share a bit of information about encaustic. Encaustic is also known as hot wax painting. The term Encaustic is derived from the Greek word enkaien and means to burn into. This procedure of applying molten, coloured wax to various surfaces was already used by the old Egyptians more than 3000 years ago – the resulting paintings of the mummy portraits are there for us to admire in the British Museum in London or in the National Museum in Cairo. The technique was lost for hundreds of years, but rediscovered in the 18th century and has also had a resurgence in popularity since the 1990s.

The liquid wax can be applied to wood panels or also canvas and other materials, and metal tools and brushes be used to shape the paint before it cools, you can also use heated metal tools to manipulate the wax once it has cooled onto the surface. You use a heat gun in-between wax layers to ensure that the new layer bonds to the existing ones.

Not as easy as I thought it would be but for sure fun!

Ciao!