Instructor: Isabelle Gaborit
Monday - Wednesday
June 1 - 2
10am - 4pm
2 sessions
The Lay of the Land is both literal and metaphorical: an exploration of how encaustic texture can embody stories, memories, and landscapes. This immersive three-day workshop invites participants to investigate the topography of encaustic painting as a language of surfaces— using valleys, ridges, and translucent layers of wax to narrate personal journeys, capture emotional states, and reflect the environments that shape us. Through demonstrations, hands-on exercises, and reflective discussions, participants will expand both technical skill and conceptual depth. Texture is approached not merely as an aesthetic choice but as a storytelling tool capable of holding memory and meaning. From mark-making warm-ups that establish a vocabulary of surfaces to layering, heat manipulation, and varied marks achieved through deliberate gesture and pressure, participants will learn to build encaustic works that resonate with symbolic and emotional power. Drawing inspiration from natural forms, participants will explore how the jagged edges of cliffs, the softness of hills, or the transitions between forest and riverbank can be translated into expressive surfaces. They will also create personal terrains where valleys symbolize reflection, ridges growth, and smooth plains moments of serenity. This blending of environment and inner landscape invites artists to see their work as layered maps of memory and imagination. The workshop culminates in finished works that integrate emotional, environmental, and narrative approaches. Group critiques and sharing circles offer opportunities to reflect on process and meaning while learning from peers.
Open to all skill levels, the workshop provides beginners with an introduction to encaustic’s tactile possibilities and offers experienced practitioners fresh approaches for using texture as a vehicle for storytelling and transformation.
Isabelle Gaborit is a contemporary visual artist based in the west of Ireland, where she works from her studio nestled between the sea and a lake. Her chosen medium is encaustic— a process as ancient as it is immediate—using molten, pigmented beeswax manipulated with a blowtorch. This tactile and sensuous method lies at the heart of her process-driven practice, allowing her to respond directly to the raw natural forces that shape the wild Atlantic landscape around her. Originally from La Rochelle, France, Isabelle studied sculpture, drawing, and painting at l’École des Beaux-Arts in Poitiers before completing a BA (Hons) in Fine Arts in Ireland in 2006. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including France, Northern Ireland, the USA, Germany, and China. With over two decades of teaching experience, Isabelle has led workshops and retreats across Ireland and internationally, including the International Encaustic Conference in Massachusetts, Mulranny Arts, Leitrim School of Art in Ireland, and kunstfreiraum in Switzerland. She is a core instructor with R&F Handmade Paints, contributes to the online program Painting with Fire, and serves on the board of the International Encaustic Artists (IEA). In 2024, she joined Mastrius Masters as a mentor, supporting emerging artists in developing their creative voice and professional presence.