Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center upcoming events

Encaustic Image Transfer onto Glass (Sun, September 20, 2026)

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 18:00:00 GMT

This workshop accompanies for Samael Leopold-Sullivan's solo exhibit, "A Cage So Light You Hardly Feel It," showing in the CAFAC gallery from July 23 to September 23.

In this all-levels workshop you'll learn how to prepare a glass panel with a lead-free soldered border and then use clear encaustic wax to transfer a laser-printed image onto the glass. Bring your own 5x7 or smaller laser-printed images (you may bring several images; the scale and how fast you work will determine how many you can complete during class).

$60
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Samael Leopold-Sullivan

This Cultural Districts Art Fund program activity is funded, in part, by the Arts & Cultural Affairs Department in the City of Minneapolis

Encaustic Painting Sampler (Wed, October 14, 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Dip your toes into the world of encaustic painting in this sampler scale course. Painting with the ancient, luminous medium of encaustic wax offers unlimited creative possibilities. Encaustic painting is a process of applying the heated wax with pigmented damar resin onto a substrate by fusing layers of wax with a heat gun or torch. You'll learn the basics of encaustic painting including safety, materials, and several techniques to create your own work and explore your individual creative style! This workshop is a great entry point to those curious about this wonderful medium. You can expect to complete one to three small scale pieces.

$115 ($90 tuition + $25 materials)
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Jess Night

Encaustic Painting Exploration (Mon, October 19, 2026)

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Learn the ancient art of encaustic painting, which uses beeswax, pigment, and damar resin fused to a substrate with a torch or heat gun to create luminous depth-filled paintings. In this class we'll cover the safety and basics of using heated wax, before moving on to explore multiple techniques for making imagery, texture, and marks. You'll be able to experiment with non-traditional substrate shapes and materials as well as collage and inclusions in your work. You can expect to make multiple pieces and will be encouraged to try different techniques and to work on different substrates throughout this exploratory class.

Skills covered in this course include:

Basic tools and safety in working with encaustic.
Multiple mark making, application, and inclusion options.
Exploration of substrates to work from.
Basic ideas for presenting and framing work.

This course is appropriate for both beginners and those with some encaustic experience.

$360 ($300 tuition + $60 materials) | 5 sessions
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Jess Night

Encaustic Painting Exploration (Mon, October 26, 2026)

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Skills covered in this course include:

Basic tools and safety in working with encaustic.
Multiple mark making, application, and inclusion options.
Exploration of substrates to work from.
Basic ideas for presenting and framing work.

This course is appropriate for both beginners and those with some encaustic experience.

$360 ($300 tuition + $60 materials) | 5 sessions
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Jess Night

Encaustic Painting Exploration (Mon, November 02, 2026)

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Skills covered in this course include:

Basic tools and safety in working with encaustic.
Multiple mark making, application, and inclusion options.
Exploration of substrates to work from.
Basic ideas for presenting and framing work.

This course is appropriate for both beginners and those with some encaustic experience.

$360 ($300 tuition + $60 materials) | 5 sessions
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Jess Night

Encaustic Painting Exploration (Mon, November 09, 2026)

Mon, 09 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Skills covered in this course include:

Basic tools and safety in working with encaustic.
Multiple mark making, application, and inclusion options.
Exploration of substrates to work from.
Basic ideas for presenting and framing work.

This course is appropriate for both beginners and those with some encaustic experience.

$360 ($300 tuition + $60 materials) | 5 sessions
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Jess Night

Encaustic Painting Exploration (Mon, November 16, 2026)

Mon, 16 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Skills covered in this course include:

Basic tools and safety in working with encaustic.
Multiple mark making, application, and inclusion options.
Exploration of substrates to work from.
Basic ideas for presenting and framing work.

This course is appropriate for both beginners and those with some encaustic experience.

$360 ($300 tuition + $60 materials) | 5 sessions
Open to ages 16 and up.

Instructor: Jess Night