Sixth-Anniversary Book Project

And we have a winner!

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At the bottom of this post, I offered a new book to the person whose old book was most in need or replacement. Turns out that the very first person to send in pictures, Camille Davidson of Maine--she of the mouse nest made from the book cover--had the best of the worst.

Congratulations, Camille.

And thanks, everyone, for sending in your pictures, including from Mississippi, Milan, en masse, and outer space.

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The Best Pictures on Earth--and Elsewhere!

(updated 11.1.07)

Here's Jim Talt, doing some lunar wax work, above. And look who he ran into:

Rodney Thompson. Uh, small world. Hope they'll be back in time for the Conference in June. Meanwhile, on terra firma . . .

Deanna Wood's studio in Texas, with her work from the "Waxy Buildup" series

Sara Mast's studio, Bozeman, Montana. I shot this on my studio vist there

. The Portland, Oregon, chapter of IEA; Linda Womack (center, with striped sleeves) sent the picture. Here's Linda's note: "I recently started the Portland Chapter of the IEA and since we don't meet in an exotic locale I decided we could go for quantity instead. This photo, taken by a studio mate, shows our fledgling group with your book, which (apparently) everyone must own." More info on her blogsite

From left: Jim Talt, Mazarine Treyz, Melinda Fellini, Shelly Shinjo, Kimberly Kent, Linda Womack, Amy Stoner, Andrea Benson (hiding), Natasia Chan (seated), Innana McGraw, Judy Wise (kneeling)


Melanee Cooper in her Chicago Gallery standing before a painting by Kathleen Waterloo. I took this one on my recent trip to the Windy City. Click here for my Chicago blog report

Gulf Coast, post Katrina, courtesy of Michelle Allee. See her story below

The picture that inspired the project: The Art of Encaustic Painting with a little Milanese church in the background. Photograph by Andrea Costa

Here's what I wrote in August: My book, the Art of Encaustic Painting, will have its sixth anniversary next month. In the spirit of celebration, I'm proposing a roundup of pictures of where the book has been. What inspired this project is a picture of the book in front of the Duomo in Milan (grazie, Andrea). If you've got a copy of the book and a digital camera, send me a J-peg of where your book is or has been.

More pictures:

Pass Christian, Mississippi, courtesy of Michelle Allee

Michelle Allee sent this picture (and the one at the top of the post) from Pass Christian, Mississippi: "I'm writing from the Gulf Coast. We were hit by Katrina 2 years ago, and although we still have a long way to go, removing debris, rebuilding, and recovering, we have come a long way as well. Our art association in Hancock County sent out your wonderful article on donating to auctions, which led me to your blog site. My personal copy of The Art of Encaustic Painting was unharmed in the storm but I couldn't resist the photo opportunity to let you know that the artists here are alive and well." Glad to hear it, Michelle. And thanks for the picture.

These pictures are from Paula Roland in Georgia O'Keeffe country. Her note said in part: "I just returned from teaching my Encaustic Monotype and Painting workshops at Ghost Ranch. I have two copies of the book. I keep a "clean" copy at home . . . The other is a studio copy so participants and I can use it for reference (note the many page markers!).

Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu; below, mulish interest in the book

"I'm sending you three pictures taken outside of the studio, with our friends the pack mules. There is a narrative here, somewhere."

In Pam Farrell's new studio-in-progress, Flemington, New Jersey

In the studio at Castle Hill Center for the Arts in Truro, Mass., this past summer

In Raina Imig's class of little waxers at Grace Art Camp, Portland, Oregon (Photo courtesy of Hylla Evans)

In Camille Davidson's Maine studio in the woods. When Camille opened her desk drawer above, she found that a mouse had turned the cover . . . into a nest!

Ground rules:

Identify location and photographer. No large files, just reduced-for-sending J-pegs. If you have an interesting anecdote to go with the picture, send it to me along with the J-pegs: joanne@joannemattera.com. I'll post my favorites.Oh, and there's a prize: The owner of the most beat-up book will get a new copy. I'll keep updating this post until the end of the year, and I'll award the prize then.