Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to be a member of IEA to attend encaustiCon®?
Although IEA is a member organization, we invite both members and non-members to attend this exciting event. We extended the same invitation to our presenters in submitting their proposals and are extending the same invitation to those who want to enter the International Encaustic Artists Juried Show.

I’m planning to come to encaustiCon®. Other than the hotel and the conference fee, what else should I budget for?
Actually, everything, including most of your meals, is paid through the conference fee. If you are arriving by air, local transportation to the hotel is $25—much less if you share. If you are driving, we have negotiated a lower parking fee for hotel secure parking. Save your money to spend in the jam-packed Vendor’s room!

I’ve attended numerous other professional art and career based conferences. This fee is about the same or lower. How can you make any money with the fee covering three full days of meals?
We don’t. That is the beauty of a non-profit organization. The steering committee for encaustiCon® are not only artists but also professional web designers, educators, and project managers who are volunteering their time and expertise to this event. IEA offers this annual gathering as one of the many benefits of belonging to the organization. Its Board is composed of other professionals who donate their services to the organization. No one is compensated.

If I am a member of IEA and can’t come to the conference this year, will my membership dues be used to help pay for the meals and events of the conference?
No. Our conservative budget for this event is self-sustaining. We do not expect to use any IEA money to fund the conference. Your membership dues are used to support local and national exhibiting opportunities, to help develop and sustain local chapters, and to promote the mission of IEA. Local chapters receive a portion of their national dues to fund local projects. The IEA website has more details about chapters and how to start one in your area.

IEA encaustiCon® has a theme. Why is there a theme?
IEA is an international organization whose mission is to raise the level of excellence in fine art encaustic work by providing a global information exchange. To that end, this year’s steering committee along with the Board, chose to create a dialogue asking the question: Is wax only a medium of choice or is encaustic a process that can’t be duplicated using any other media? We don’t, of course, presume to answer that question. We do anticipate a lively dialogue. To bring information to the dialogue we have invited a panel of professional artists who have been working with wax for some time. They will share their own story of how their use of wax as a medium has influenced their work over the years. Our keynote speaker will address the question of modality.

If I am staying for the pre or post conference workshops, will I be able to see some of the local attractions?
Yes, El Dorado Hotel is located in the heart of Santa Fe, New Mexico. You can find more about downtown, here at The Santa Fe's Convention and Visitors Bureau.

I’ve heard some things about La Vendeene awards. Are they sponsored by the conference? Who can be nominated?
encaustiCon® is only the venue for presenting the awards. IEA has initiated this award structure in order to foster the organization’s mission of providing a global information exchange and raising interest about encaustic in the art world and with the general public. The IEA Board wanted to honor the innovators among us who have created the tools and materials of our art. They wanted us to recognize and thank those whose hard work, ingenuity and excellence have paved the way for the rest of us in the encaustic community.
We invite everyone to think of these nominations as a way to say thank you to those who have advanced encaustic technique or materials and a way to show your respect and admiration for our peers who create in wax. Anyone may nominate and anyone may be nominated. An independent panel of judges, curators and museum directors will select the finalists from the nominees submitted. We hope these finalists will want to attend encaustiCon®, where the winner will be announced. 

I’ve heard this event called an Advance, a Retreat and now encaustiCon®. Why all of the name changes?
From the first humble day-long meeting in Northern California in 2005, IEA has continued to gather its members every year to share ideas, show our work and renew friendships. As our membership has grown over the years, so too have our annual gatherings. With IEA encaustiCon® 2012, we finally have the nucleus of a structure in which we can build and develop as our chapters multiply and our membership increases. We have adopted the term IEA encaustiCon® for all future IEA annual conferences.

There are other conferences out there. How is encaustiCon® unique?
We don’t say that our conference is unique. We are a professional group with both professional and non-professional member artists who come together annually for professional enrichment and networking. We design our gatherings around the needs of our members, who want hands-on workshops, demonstrations of technique, information about business practices and marketing, and inspiring presentations. As a steering committee we have selected the components for encaustiCon® from conference models used by a variety of professional organizations.

Will encaustiCon® move every year? If so, where will it be next year?
Yes. Our members are located all over the United States, Canada and Mexico, Europe and Asia. We like the idea of getting to see different parts of the world. Our members like to showcase their own local communities and bring internationally known speakers and writers into their own backyard. Where will we be next year? If you come to encaustiCon®, you will be the first to know!