Comments from a student

Encaustic Painting Workshops - with Ezshwan Winding By Linda Lamb If you've ever wanted to paint with fire (and let's be honest, who hasn't?), encaustic workshops are your ticket - melted beeswax, pigment, heat – it's pure alchemy. There's nothing quite like the tactile, layered quality of encaustic painting. Several local artists offer small-group intensives where you can explore either cold or hot wax mediums here in San Miguel. My personal favorite is Ezshwan Winding, who guides students through the ancient, yet endlessly modern art of encaustic painting. Her classes are a joyful journey of technique, experimentation and hands-on fun. It's painting with fire, yes - but it's also meditation, finesse and magic all in one. Ezshwan herself is a force of nature: passionate, soulful and brimming with a creative energy that fills her studio like music. That's no accident – she spent years alongside her late husband, legendary jazz trombonist Kai Winding, whose spirit of improvisation and rhythm still lingers in the air to inspire. Just like jazz, encaustic art invites you to loosen up, play with the unexpected, and embrace happy accidents. Best to come with no expectations because this art form is a lesson in pure surprise. Ezshwan offers encaustic and cold wax workshops, and welcomes vacation workshops through Vacation With an Artist. By the end of your class with her, you won't just walk away with a one-of-a-kind creation, I guarantee you'll leave with a little more fire in your creative soul.