Encaustic Intensive Courses
Encaustic Courses are offered in two levels of instruction throughout the year.
Please choose the course to best fit your experience with Encaustic Art.
Essential Encaustic:
How to Paint with Wax
In this class, we will touch on the history of encaustic while making our own 6”x6” masterpieces (more than one!) with encaustic medium and paints. We’ll explore various ways to prep boards, adjusting the opacity of the wax, making a smooth surface, making a textured surface, stencils, digging in to reveal or to fill, fusing techniques and so much more. You will have a few things to bring — you either already have most or can easily gather — and then we will get busy melting and painting. No experience is necessary, other than a willingness to learn and get waxy.
Expressive Encaustic:
Go further! Dig deeper!
Building on previous encaustic experience, we will work larger and with more intention. This will be a smaller class (limited to four students) encouraging more dialogue and more one-on-one instruction. For this class you will bring your own cradle boards (no larger than 24” in either direction) to work on. I will provide everything else including a few 6”x6” boards to get us started and to refresh your art muscles. We will go over techniques and tools and then dive in to honing in on your intent and imagination. Note: YOU MUST have taken an encaustic class prior to this class.
COURSE DETAILS
Essential Encaustic
Course Dates
Feb 9-10th, 2026
Mon-Tue
9am-4pm
Course Cost
$280 for the course
20% non-refundable studio fee
Expressive Encaustic
Course Dates
Mar 9-10th, 2026
Mon-Tue
9am-4pm
Course Cost
$350
20% non-refundable studio fee
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Guest Instructor
Michele Messenger
Michele is an enthusiastic encaustic artist, eager to share all she knows (and doesn’t know) about this most flexible art practice. She fell in love with encaustic after meeting Victoria Eubanks at an art show, taking her classes, then volunteering as her assistant (and open studio room mother) when Victoria taught at Art Students League of Denver. Michele has been producing and selling her graphic and whimsical artwork since 2015. She says her favorite part of working with wax is the endless directions it can go and how satisfying and forgiving the entire process is. Michele is a freelance graphic designer and finds painting with wax to be a perfect complement to her design work and
vice versa! She is represented at two galleries in the Denver area, participates in summer art shows, and is giddy about teaching at Outside the Box Studio.
Michele Messenger is an R&F Certified Instructor
