As summer heats up, so can the art mediums that you use—quite literally. From working with a kiln to create beautiful glass pieces, to experimenting with found materials and resin, or working with encaustic, hot mediums come alive in the warmth of the summer. These different art mediums not only require physical heat to manipulate, but also bring an intensity that mirrors the energy of summer itself.
Let’s take a look at five of the hottest art mediums that will heat up your summer!
Note: Follow district and school policies regarding specialized art tools and mediums. Additionally, be sure to review all resources and preview all artists before determining if they are appropriate to share with your students.
1. Resin
Epoxy resin comes in a clear, glossy liquid, and it hardens into a solid. Once it’s hardened, it creates vibrant, glass-like artwork. While the resin is still in liquid form, mix it with pigments and dyes to add color. Add other materials, like glitter, flowers, stones, or inks, to add interest. Pour onto surfaces such as wood or canvas or into molds.
Bring the heat to resin art by… bringing the heat! While you can make resin items without heat, using a heat gun can help remove air bubbles and produce a smoother piece. The heat encourages the bubbles to rise and pop, and thins the resin for spreading and creating textures like ripples or waves.
Resin can turn any object or item into a magical, shiny treasure. Many crafters use resin to make functional items like jewelry or coasters. Other artists, like Nat Bowen, transform resin into vibrant, layered paintings. The way the colors play with each other and the light creates neat three-dimensional effects. Bowen incorporates mindfulness in her works, both in the peaceful process of pouring the resin and in viewing the luminous final results.
2. Encaustics
Encaustic, meaning “to burn in,” is a painting technique that uses heated beeswax mixed with colored pigments to create rich, textured works of art. Use an encaustic heating palette to warm the wax and experiment with layering, scraping, and fusing to create surface designs. This art medium has been around for centuries and dates back to ancient Greek and Egyptian art. It was most commonly used to paint funeral portraits that they would place over the person’s mummy after death. Encaustic as an art form trickled back onto the scene with muralist Diego Rivera and Abstract Expressionist Jasper Johns.
3. Glass Fusing
Many art teachers have a kiln in their classroom and use it strictly for clay. Have you considered using your kiln for other art forms? Try glass fusing! It’s not a huge stretch, because you probably already do glaze firings, which fuse tiny pieces of glass to ceramics. Glass fusing is when you join compatible sheets of glass together in a kiln to create designs. It’s great because, unlike glassblowing, you can take as long as you need to arrange (and rearrange!) the pieces before fusing.
There are so many stunning items you can create with this process. From dishes to jewelry to wall hangings, the possibilities are endless. Plus, you can create small pieces in a relatively short time span—maybe three to four hours for something simple. Once you get started, you may find yourself looking into glassblowing, like renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly!
Expand glass fusing from small kiln projects into huge, multi-panel artworks like Klaus Moje. He combined his passion for ancient Roman glass mosaics with modern glass fusing methods to create large, kaleidoscope-like works of art. If you need another reason to love Moje, look no further! He was also a dedicated art teacher to many glass artists and made huge contributions to the niche field of glass education.
4. Wood Burning
Wood burning is also known as pyrography, which translates to “fire writing.” You can trace wood burning back centuries in many cultures and civilizations! It’s a fascinating technique that allows artists to create detailed designs by burning images into wood using a heated tool. You can vary the temperature, pressure, and tips to produce a wide range of tones and textures. It’s a relaxing process that encourages patience and attention to detail, perfect for advanced art students. It also fully engages the senses with the tactile nature of raw wood and the comforting smell of burning wood.
Many woodworkers use wood burning to customize or decorate cutting boards and furniture. However, Alex Peter Idoko takes wood burning to a whole new level! Idoko is a Nigerian artist who captures people and places in exquisite detail with fire, a razor, and sandpaper. His portraits portray deep emotion and symbolism with haunting and piercing gazes.
5. Shrink Art
You’re never too old for shrink art! Draw or trace designs on special shrink plastic sheets. Cut them out and place them in an oven. As the plastic heats, it begins to dramatically curl, twist, and shrink—often to about a third of its original size—in a matter of minutes. Because it gets smaller and more compressed, it becomes thicker and more durable. This change is magical for all ages to watch and results in a miniature version of your creation, ideal for keychains, jewelry, ornaments, or keepsakes.
Just because shrink art… shrinks, doesn’t mean it needs to be minuscule! Valerie Hanks explores how the transformation of shrink art (undergoing extreme stress via heat to emerge into something stronger) is a metaphor for the human condition. She investigates how drawing and sculpture, and time and space interact through her abstract forms.
As the summer ignites both temperature and imagination, heat becomes more than just the weather—it becomes an integral part of many art mediums. Whether it’s resin hardening under a heat gun, glass fusing in a kiln, or vibrant strokes of melted wax, this season invites you to experiment with its heat. Plus, gain red-hot inspiration from artists past and present who create stunning works of art. Embrace the warmth and try out some of these fun new ways to experiment with heat in your next artistic practice!
Share some ways you use heat in your classroom.
What hot, new art medium are you excited to experiment with?
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Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
