I read years ago that we learn to see through our sense of touch. That sentence created such a profound awareness for me. Since reading that, I have come to understand more fully what the attraction to working with wax holds for me, and I think I can speak for many artists who work in the encaustic process. There is something so wonderful about wax and what it can bring to our senses, especially our sense of touch.  

Being able to actually handle an object, touching and feeling it creates an immediate connection and not just for our ability to see. It brings an understanding that cannot be otherwise known.  

I travel a bit and have the fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our wonderful products. One of the by-products, if you will, of these presentations is that I generate a lot of "samples." As soon as I have finished creating these samples, I send them off into the audience so people can see them, but that isn't all they do. After close inspection, they will smell them and then closing their eyes they feel them.  

Many of my demo pieces are done on paper. Sometimes I paint on the paper other times I will make a print.  As time has gone by, I have come to have quite a collection. I have chosen to fashion many of these pieces into books. It is through creating these books that people are further encouraged to touch and feel and become a part of the art experience.   

The next time you are working with encaustic consider how your sense of touch helps you visualize your art.