The word encaustic comes from the Greek word    'enkaustikos' meaning to 'burn in'.  Almost 3000 years  ago, Greek shipbuilders used wax to caulk the joints and  waterproof the hulls of their ships making them seaworthy.

 These ingenious men began to add pigment for colour and  resin (tree sap) for hardness, creating a painting medium  with unmatched depth and luminosity. Their ships were  painted and transformed into dragons and sea monsters,  striking fear into the hearts of their enemies.

 Before long, encaustic art could be found everywhere from  depicting everyday life on urns, to funerary portraits, to  creating a lifelike glow on marble statues.