About the Founder

The Founder: 

Atelier Eirene hosts the encaustic residency in Ios, expressive arts retreats, and facilitates a number of workshops around the world. Eirene, whose ancestors hail from the island of iOS for many generations, is a teacher, writer/poet, and artist.  She came to art later in life while searching for a way out of her “head” during a painful psychic crisis.  The Fayyum portraits in the Hellenistic wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, those penetrating faces from 3rd and 4th century Alexandria, spoke to her.  The technique they were made from “encaustic” intrigued her so she followed her curiosity.  The quest led her down a rabbit hole that included visits to R&F headquarters, the official manufacturers of encaustic medium and paints in upstate New York.  After a few workshops there and classes at the National Academy of Art followed by the Arts Students League in New York, she was transformed.  The medium spoke to her need for embodied creation.  The laying down of the hot wax, its aroma, the meditative quality of fusing the many layers and its incredible texture became a therapeutic way to discover the hidden layers in her own psyche.  What started as a therapeutic practice evolved to a professional career.  Eirene is an exhibiting artist mostly in galleries in New York City, an encaustic teaching artist, and member of the International Encaustic Artists Association.  

Inspired by the traditional way of life of the villages in the islands of the Cyclades and its breathtaking landscapes, seascapes, and skyscapes, Eirene resolved to bring these two loves, encaustic and nature, into a xenona, a sanctuary for strangers.  The law of hospitality so integral to Hellenic culture (dating from Homeric times and beyond) reverberates throughout the islands.  

The Mission of Encaustic Residency Ios

The Encaustic Residency in IOS, under the auspices of Atelier Eirene, is meant to introduce this ancient technique to a modern artistic audience.  Artists who are versed in the technique are given time and space to focus on their creative process in a secluded, quiet environment with minimal distractions.  Those who are new to the medium can be guided in the craft through weekly workshops and demonstrations.  The retreat encourages experimentation, collaboration, and conversation.  Ideally, a group of 5-8 artists will be in residence working in their own space but with common work areas that enhance cross-pollination.  Encaustic is such a versatile medium it will be possible to explore:

-encaustic photography

-encaustic sculpture

-encaustic mixed media and collage 

-cold wax techniques

-encaustic iconography

-encaustic embellishment 

While focused on encaustic, it is not exclusive to it.