Museum of Encaustic Art

Down a dusty dirt road outside of Los Cerrillos, New Mexico, lies a museum celebrating one of the world's fastest growing art forms. Everywhere you look, vibrant, textured creations line the walls. Three-dimensional monarch butterfly wings seem to flutter out from one canvas, while several others are less defined, the material frozen in abstract patterns. What binds them all is the medium: encaustic art, created using heated, pigmented wax.

The Museum of Encaustic Art was founded in 2005 by Doug Mehrens and his wife Adrienne in Los Cerrillos. Originally, the building served as Doug’s personal studio, but his passion for the medium inspired him to transform it into a public museum. For a time the museum moved to Santa Fe, finding a place within the city’s eclectic art scene. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced a long-term shutdown, the Mehrens moved their museum back to its original home. Here in Los Cerrillos, it fits in quite nicely with the other fantastic art spaces of the area. 

While it is claimed that encaustic art is the fastest-growing art medium in the world, that does not mean it is one of the newest. In ancient times, artists in places like Greece and Egypt used beeswax mixed with a hardening agent like damar resin. Many of the works on display in the museum use this same method. Other works feature modern techniques like melting photos into wax, or even just melting crayons with a propane torch.

In addition to being a repository of encaustic art, the museum also serves as an educational space. Group workshops offer the opportunity to learn how to make your own encaustic art. A library within the museum offers literature on encaustic techniques and other art forms. Whether you’re an aspiring artist or just a casual admirer, you are sure to find inspiration at the Museum of Encaustic Art.