Feilding artist Lee-Anne Stone says painting with hot wax is challenging because of its fluidity. Photo / Judith Lacy
Feilding artist Lee-Anne Stone says painting with hot wax is challenging because of its fluidity. Photo / Judith Lacy
Lee-Anne Stone would like to be into gardening. She thinks it's a wonderful hobby, but says she isn't that way inclined.
So when the Feilding resident needed something flexible to take her mind off her husband's cancer diagnosis, she turned to art. With two teenage daughters, Stone thought she needed to look after her own mental wellbeing so she could be the support person.
That was in 2018, and Stone has just finished her first exhibition at the Feilding Art Centre. Journeys: TLC Group Exhibition featured the work of five current or former students of The Learning Connexion (TLC).
Stone started her TLC journey with a short workshop in 2018. The next year she did TLC's certificate programme by distance part-time, making the most of block weeks in Lower Hutt.
She's now completed a Diploma in Creativity Level 5, for which she received a fees scholarship from TLC.
Stone uses art as a meditative practice so the process is both joyful and fulfilling. "I do things to get out of my head."
Growing up in a Te Puke household that valued hard work and logical thinking, art didn't appear on her radar until later in life.
Some of Lee-Anne Stone's mixed media encaustic wax vignettes. Photo / Judith Lacy
Her favourite medium is painting with hot wax. Stone had never heard of encaustic wax until she went to TLC. She hadn't heard of a lot of art practices before she started, or if she had heard of it, she hadn't experienced it.
One style of encaustic wax painting is applying the wax in layers using hot brushes, and each layer is fused with a heat gun. Stone mixes her own colours using colour blocks and uses damar resin to lift the melting point of the wax.
Another technique is placing wax on an iron then ironing a board. "You can get some interesting effects using the iron."
Some of Stone's pieces feature tiny handwriting in the shape of a leaf mounted on board and covered in wax. This is known as micrography.
An extremely smooth piece of Lee-Ann Stone's encaustic wax collection. Photo / Supplied
Stone likes art to be tactile and aims to do artwork people can touch on the way past. This use of fingers adds another dimension to viewing art.
"The fun thing is you start with wax but you can use all sorts of things to enhance the look or create an atmosphere or depth." This could be a stylus tool to create texture, seeds or shellac burn.
Stone is not studying this year because she wants to consolidate her knowledge and focus on wax painting. She wants to incorporate a variety of techniques in her wax painting to create unique pieces that speak to the subconscious.
She does plan to do further study at TLC and is a big fan of the school of creativity and art. "I've got so much out of it, I just wanted to let other people know that it's there."
She appreciates TLC's focus on doing and exploring. TLC is supportive of people who want to go it a go. "The tutors are really wonderful, they are just so patient and they work with your skill level."
Lee-Anne Stone's unfinished political piece. The headstone will say born New Zealand died Aoteoroa. Photo / Judith Lacy
The other artists in the Journeys exhibition were Jeanette Henderson, Victoria Armstrong, Sandra Douglas, and Margaret Willard. While the exhibition finishes today, as a member of the art society Stone's work is often on display at the centre in Manchester St.
When she received the TLC scholarship, Stone thought she should give back to the community so started volunteering with the Feilding and District Art Society. She is now the treasurer. Volunteers are sought for the centre's front desk and can do as little as three hours a fortnight.
