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Small works, like this altered plaing card, are the hallmark of Gloria's portfolio.

When we look for artists to feature on the site, we’re looking for 2 things: art that is unique and an artist that is using their gifts in worship and ministry…

Gloria fits both categories…

Gloria does mosaics and beadwork, but the thing that got our attention and continues to captivate us is her work with encaustics… that is, painting with hot wax.

Encaustics is a medium that has a long tradition in the Church… many of the early church icons were painted with encaustics.

Gloria got interested in doing encaustics quite by accident. She went on a studio tour because her daughter wanted to learn to paint. The artist recommended that they visit Art Junction in their hometown of El Paso, Texas and connect with artists there.

The first artist they met worked in encaustics and gave them a demonstration… and they were hooked. Gloria bought some waxes and went home to experiment. Using a coffee-cup warmer and paint brushes, she made her first encaustic pieces.

Now, after taking several classes and developing her own techniques, Gloria has created an extensive body of work that can be viewed on her flickr photostream.

If you visit Gloria (Art_in_the_family) on flickr, you’ll find her mosiacs, collage art and beadwork as well. She thinks of herself as a “crafter” rather than an artist, but even her crafty creations have great color and composition… We think of her as an artist who crafts… Of herself, Gloria says:

I can’t draw a straight line, but give me an iron and I can paint…

Most of Gloria’s encaustic work is done with a small travel iron and a stylus. She paints on a card  about 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″… pretty small when you think of using something the size of a travel iron to paint. She’s posted a short video of her original flower painting technique that you can view at the bottom of the post.

She uses her beadwork skills to make Rosaries that she shares with ministries and hospitals in El Paso. She holds classes at her church where students make Rosaries to donate as well.

We talked about praying the Rosary and how protestants don’t have much understanding of it, but I have no doubt that Gloria finds great comfort, inspiration and connection to Christ through the prayer and the ministry that she has.

Gloria has original work for sale on etsy.com and check out herFlickr photostream.

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