All in the House that Wassenberg Built!

By Hope Wallace

I am not sure where to begin this week’s column. There is much going on at the Wassenberg Art Center in the next week and beyond. So…from the top!
Our “Out of the Woodwork” exhibit continues until August 12, so if you haven’t had a chance to stop in, I encourage you to see the vast array of works on display. Thank you to our weekend docents who keep our shows running.

Much of this craftsmanship is simply mind-boggling. For example, two small bowls and a hollow egg made by Ray Feltz, Celina, are created with tiny 1/8 inch and under square pieces of wood cut on a table saw. Thousands of these minute pieces of finished wood are then assembled to create a lacey mosaic of contrasting Cherry, Holly and Tulip. They are appropriated titled “28% Air #1” and “28% Air #2.”  Nancy Jayne Smith’s “Quadrafoil” basket is created out of hand-cut strips of ash with a natural and slate blue stained finish. Its almost mathematical precision makes a definitive statement and creates a natural focal point in the exhibit.

A unique red barn complete with hand-cut shingles and swinging gates by Ron Roth, Wauseon, was made for each of Ron’s sons. Jim Ballmer also of Wauseon made a pirate’s chest out of repurposed barn wood.

Stan Agler, Van Wert, submitted treasures from Africa including a detailed chess set from Nigeria. Many others’ works such as Linda McCann, Michael Klutka, Marvin Woodruff, Seth Baker, Tony Beckman, Min Lindsey, Stephen Kleinhen, Carole Macklin, Rocky McVaigh, Wayne Richardson, Anita Weeder & Sharon Blank, Steve Smith and others combine for a wide-ranging exhibit illustrating the versatility of woodcraft.

This week, young people from Westwood Behavioral Health Center will have an opportunity to create papier maché and mixed media masks. Masks have held an ancient tradition in the human journey and continue to be an excellent form of self-expression. This class will be offered to the public in the near future in addition to our current lineup.

Thursday, July 28, at 7 p.m., the Wassenberg Camera Club will offer a “Whatcha Think?” critique of photos for anyone interested in submitting a photograph in the upcoming Van Wert County Fair. This is a great way to receive usable and clear-cut advice on technique by some of the best photographers in the area.

Egg tempera — a revolutionized medium

By Kay Sluterbeck

 If you’ve seen work by Andrew Wyeth or Botticelli, you’ve seen what egg tempera can do. 

Robert Vickery (who has been called the world’s most proficient craftsman in egg tempera painting) says, “Egg tempera is a simple, cheap, easy-to-use technique that produces gorgeous effects.”  It’s extremely durable as well; many egg tempera paintings done in the 15th century are still brilliant and clear.

But what exactly is egg tempera?  It is a paint made by combining powdered pigments, water, and egg (usually the yolk).  When applied to a panel or paper, this combination forms an insoluble film (think about the last time you tried to get dried egg yolk off a plate).  Thick layers will crack and fall off, so egg tempera must be built up in thin layers.  It dries to the touch in seconds (although it takes a year or so to dry chemically), so more paint can be applied in minutes. 

The layering process makes egg tempera unique.  Each coat of underpainting glows through the overpainting, resulting in a luminous appearance that can’t really be duplicated by any other medium. 

Unfortunately, some people don’t want to try egg tempera because they associate the term with the ancient techniques used by medieval and early Renaissance painters like Botticelli, Verrocchio, and Fra Angelico.  These artists used an extremely painstaking process that involved detailed drawings and many hours of making complicated and tedious layers of crosshatching.  Aside from the time and patience required, this technique does not allow for corrections or second thoughts.  If you don’t get it right the first time, the painting is ruined.

It’s no wonder that when oil paints were developed around the 15th century, most artists quickly changed mediums.  The change was so abrupt that it can actually be seen in one painting, Verrocchio’s “Baptism of Christ, with Two Angels.” Most of the work was done in egg tempera.  But one of the angels, reportedly done by Verrocchio’s student Leonardo da Vinci, is painted in oil.

Egg tempera became a lost art.  But in 1844 a book by Cenino Cennini, a 15th-century Italian, was translated into English.  Cennini had written a definitive explanation of how the old masters used egg tempera, and the translation created renewed interest in the medium.  However, many of the artists who tried it gave up on it after struggling with the complicated old technique. 

In the 1920s and 30s artists began experimenting and discovered that the ancient “rules” for egg tempera could be broken.  Instead of spending hours doing tedious cross-hatching, they found the paint can be applied in thin layers (glazes) to build up color and form.  It can also be stippled, splattered and dripped to produce texture. 

Artists like Andrew Wyeth and Robert Vickery revolutionized egg tempera methods and brought the medium back to popularity.  Norman Rockwell also enjoyed using it as a break from oils, and when he visited the Kremlin and did portraits of Russian leaders he used egg tempera because of its fast drying time.

Robert Vickery suggests this method of getting a feel for egg tempera without investing in powdered pigments.  Using the best tube watercolor you have, lay dabs of the colors out on a paper palette and mix them with a bit of egg yolk rather than water.  The paint will be a little slippery, and it may harden in a slightly different way, but you will see what effects are possible with egg tempera.  Vickery himself used this method when he was traveling and didn’t want to carry dozens of pots of dry pigment; all he needed was a set of tube watercolors and a fresh egg. 

Vickery says, “There are many ways to use egg tempera, not just one.  And with a lot of practice and some imagination you should be able to come up with techniques I’ve never even thought of.”