Tjanting Anyone?

The traditional Tjanting tool for Batik would be a delight to use to make flowing lines in hot wax.

Here is how I made mine. I found an old brass metal ballpoint pen. I cut off @ an inch with a hacksaw.

With a metal file I removed enough metal at the small round tip to make a 5/64 " hole.

Drill another hole 5/32 " @ 1/4 inch from the opening.

Cut off the head of a 5/32" screw leaving @ an inch.

Thread this 5/32" rod just into the side opening on the metal cone.

Cut the metal ball point pen cartridge so that it is @ 1 1/2". Insert this into the well of the cone.

Now, add the threaded rod to the wood burning tool with heat regulator mentioned in my earlier blogs.

Put some heated wax with a brush into the well of the cone and turn the heat on the iron until it is warm enough to keep the wax flowing.

To use, just push down until the tip of the ball point is pushed up from the hole in the cone and wax will flow until you raise the cone and the ball point tip falls back down to block the hole.

Here are some options for the cone:

Small metal cone pocket for flowers.

Brass cones for jewelry making.

Metal cake decorating cone tips.

Brass bullet shell casings:


Any of these can be adapted to make your own Tjanting.

Palette Knife Meets Encaustic Heating Iron

There are some palette knives that have a 3/16" diameter  metal rod that inserts into the wooden handle.


You can cut these off with a Dremel cut off tool or a hack saw (wear safety glasses or face shields).

This 3/16 inch diameter fits perfectly in the  Encaustic Art tm low heat stylus iron.

See:

Now you can add the many palette knife designs to your encaustic experience.

Tools for Detail Work in Encaustic Painting

In my last post I described a method of connecting a pen point to a wood-burning tool with a regulator that reduces the heat so that you can work with wax. Here is another easy way to do this.

In my wood-burning tool accessories is a chuck that fits the tool and allows me to use X-Acto knife blades by inserting a blade in the chuck holder and turning the chuck until it tightens up on the blade.

Wait a minute! What if I take some pliers or a vise and flatten the curved end of a pen point that goes into a pen holder? Now the flattened end slides into the chuck holder just like the knife blade.

Likewise, this may be done with lino cut tools that have a curved end to fit in a handle. The little well just beyond the cutting point holds wax which may be poured from the curved tip or V tip of these tools.

These could also be clipped with a Bull dog clip to the wire brush tool or cut a nail ( Use a hack saw or Dremel cut off tool and safety glasses!)  the same diameter as the brush tool and an appropriate length and clip the lino cutting tool to the nail just like we did in the last post on pen points.

Fine Lines in Encaustic

The following describes a method for fitting pen points to a heating iron so that you can make fine lines using hot wax in your paintings.

If you have a wood-burning tool with a temperature regulator this will be an easy way to use pen points made for ink.

First loosen the tiny screw on the end of the wood-burning tool and replace the chisel point with the fine point. This may be done by turning the chisel point gently so that its threaded end comes out of the tool. Carefully place the fine point tool in the threaded opening and turn it until is is secure but not overly tight.

Next, take a pen point and place it on the fine point and hold it in place with a small bulldog paper clip.

This clip also doubles as feet to keep the point off your worktable.

Wax may be melted in tins, on a palette and the point dipped in the wax. The point will hold the wax and keep it fluid so that you may make lines with the pen point. You may also dip the point into blocks of pigmented wax to load the point.

The point may be wiped on a paper towel to clean between colors.

Now you have a way to use many pen points with different nibs.

Liquid Pencil???

Sharpie tm makes a Liquid Pencil 0.5mm #2 LEAD equivalent that writes like a pen but looks like pencil marks and erases easily for 24 hours. After that it is permanent!
http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/Products/Pages/LiquidPencil.aspx

A Mouth Full of Advice

Next time you visit your dentist ask for any
throw away dental tools which make great
tools for applying and scraping encaustic wax.

Now that was painless was it not?

Crayola Special Order

Did you know that you can get a box of 64 Crayola wax crayons as a special order.
You select up to four colors and they will custom fill a box of 64 with those colors.

I plan to get a mix of mostly white and some black.

http://www.crayolastore.com/creator.asp?.
I intermix these with my dry pigments and other encaustic wax.

Tip on Da Vinci EncauSticks

Developed specifically for watermedia artists, Da Vinci's professional-quality EncauSticks watercolor sticks are ideal for use as watersoluble crayons — or for melting and applying to your media to create waxy textures. EncauSticks are highly pigmented using the same reliable pigments found in Da Vinci Artists' Watercolors.
To use in melted form, simply melt the flat end of the stick and apply it to your media to achieve texture while maintaining the ability to create washes with water. Use the sharpened tip to draw dry, or dip it in water for wet drawing ability. Go over any applied color with water to create watercolor-like effects.
Da Vinci EncauSticks are easy to use, excellent for mixed watermedia, and a great value.
Individual watercolor sticks measure 3" long × ½" diameter (76 mm × 13 mm).

™ Da Vinci is a trademark of the Da Vinci Paints Company.