We all know how quickly an encaustic workspace can get messy—and how tricky it can be to manage hot tools safely. Over the years, I’ve discovered a few simple things that make cleaning and organizing my electric encaustic griddle much easier. These affordable products have become essentials in my studio, and I’m pleased to share them with you!
1. Use metal craft clamps for palette cups
Moving hot metal pots around your griddle can be risky without the right tools. Craft clamps are perfect for gripping and safely lifting your pots when they’re too hot to touch. Craft clamps are inexpensive, easy to use, and a game-changer for avoiding accidental burns.
- When using clamps, be careful not to squeeze the prongs, as this can accidentally open the clamp and loosen your grip.
- For extra security, use two clamps on a pot at a time to create a stable handle. This small adjustment makes handling hot pots much safer and easier.
- To clean metal craft clips, lay them on your griddle to heat up and then wipe with a paper towel.
Some artists use binder clips or wooden clothes pins. I find that the binder clips can themselves heat up—becoming too hot to hold. Wooden clothes pins will work for awhile, but be careful as they tend to fall apart unexpectedly and you may end up spilling a tin full of paint.
2. Silicone muffin cups, liners or molds
Sometimes you want to start with a fresh palette—clear away the colours you’ve been working with and make room for something new. silicone muffin cups or molds are perfect for cleaning out your metal palette cups. They can also be used when making encaustic medium.
- heat up your palette cups to liquify the medium
- pour the melted encaustic medium from the cups into a silicone muffin cup
- allow to cool
- pop the coloured medium out of the cup and set aside for future use.
I particularly like the small bee and honeycomb mold for making medium. The small size melts quickly when added to a pot of encaustic paint.
3. Power strip with individual outlet control
Encaustic tools can draw a lot of power. An electric power strip with separate on/off switches for each outlet is a must-have for an encaustic studio. If your studio doesn’t have sufficient oomph for a power-hungry tool like a heat gun, you can easily switch off your other tools without having to unplug anything. It’s a small upgrade that saves time and keeps your workspace safer. The encaustic art stylus doesn’t have a power button. When it is plugged in it is on. This power bar makes it easy to turn it on just when you want to use it. Simple masking tape labels are a helpful way to organize the cables.
Small Tools, Big Impact for Your Encaustic Studio
These simple products might seem small, but they can make a big difference in your encaustic practice. Whether you’re tidying up your griddle, organizing your tools, or ensuring a safer studio environment, these recommendations are worth adding to your setup.
Do you have any favourite studio hacks or products you swear by? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your tips!
Pros and cons of R&F heated palette versus Roland Hotbox?
If you want to pull prints then you want a Roland Hotbox. I don’t have an R&F palette, I use a pancake griddle with an anodized plate from Enkaustikos – https://amzn.to/3P8Vf52
I want to reuse a cradle that I started to paint and it did not turn out. What is the best method to remove encaustic from a primed cradle. its a big cradle 16 x 20
Hi Jeanne,
One of the beautiful things about encaustic is that you can heat it up and scrape it down or keep working on top. I would use a blow torch to heat it through and a paint scraper. If you’re careful you could get some nice ribbons of wax. Good luck.
Great ideas! Thanks!