In the first part of this series on the Encaustic Transfer Mixed Media Process, we looked at how to prepare your collage for the transfer using the acrylic gel medium, and how to make and prepare your wax tablet for the application of the acrylic gel skin to its surface. All the hard work has been done, and now you need to adhere the acrylic skin to the surface of the wax properly.
DISCLAIMER AGAIN:
This process includes the use of hot liquid wax, sharp craft knives and other hot/sharp/pointy items and tools that should not be used by children! This is not a simple process, and should definitely be done under adult supervision, so kids CHECK WITH YOUR PARENTS FIRST!
After leaving the tablet to dry thoroughly overnight, check your work the next day to see if the skin has gone completely clear. If the skin still looks a bit milky, leave the tablet to dry for a few more hours.
Once you are satisfied that the tablet is completely dry, place it on a level surface. Take your heat gun, and move it backwards and forwards quickly over the surface. This will heat the wax just enough so that it adheres to the acrylic skin and bonds with it completely. With a pin or needle in one hand gently pop any air bubbles in the skin that you see, and smooth out the skin in these areas so that the surface of the acrylic skin is flat. Do not leave the heat gun pointed at any one place on the tablet for any length of time, as the wax underneath the skin will melt too much, and your carefully planned design may be ruined! This is why it is important to keep the heat gun moving constantly. This part of the process should only take a few minutes.
Once the wax and skin have bonded together, let the tablet cool completely. After the tablet has cooled, you can gently pull out the pins in the wax that held the stretched acrylic skin in place.
Trim off any excess acrylic skin hanging over the edges of the tablet, but leave a couple of inches, or enough that can be folded over and glued on to the back side of the tablet.
Once you have trimmed the acrylic skin around the edges, take your acrylic gel medium, and brush the gel around the edges of the back of the tablet. The gel medium is going to act like a glue that will bond the overlapping edges of the acrylic skin to the back tablet and make everything tidy.
Fold the trimmed edges over the back of the tablet and press them down gently into the wet gel medium. Let the gel medium dry, and there you have it! One finished Encaustic Transfer Mixed Media work! A lot of time and effort, but well worth the results!
{rokbox title=|Finished Tablet 1 | size=|500 424|}images/stories/weltec/encausticwip/fish1.png{/rokbox}
{rokbox title=|Finished Tablet 2 | size=|500 413|}images/stories/weltec/encausticwip/fish2.png{/rokbox}