Denver artist Jamie Lang sold nearly all of his small, handmade tiles during a recent crafts show, and he can only guess the reasons why. The adobe tiles are minimally decorated - with a red bicycle or a solitary house - and covered with a thin, smooth layer of wax.

"It was new, something different," Lang said after the show in Boulder, Colo., while other artists packed up their wares to take home.

Lang works in encaustic, an ancient medium of pigment and hot wax that's resurging in popularity.

The wax technique dates to at least the first century AD, according to Lissa Rankin in her book "Encaustic Art" (Watson-Guptill, 2010). Its popularity waned during the Middle Ages and Renaissance with the rise of tempera paints, but was revived during the mid-18th century, says Rankin. Painters Paul Gauguin and Georges Seurat were among those experimenting with it. In the 20th century, encaustic was featured in painter Jasper Johns' work, including his iconic "Flag" (1954-'55).

Encaustic involves heating beeswax and damar resin, often with added color, and either pouring or painting the mixture onto a surface. The tree resin helps harden and stabilize the wax. An encaustic surface can be two-dimensional, such as wood or paper, or 3-D.

Daniella Woolf, 65, an artist in Santa Cruz, Calif., says she discovered encaustic a decade ago and "completely fell in love with it." Its versatility makes it the "glue" that holds disparate mediums together, says Woolf, author of "The Encaustic Studio." "I spent a lifetime working in different media. I now can use any of those media by using the wax to pull it all together."

Encaustic can be unpredictable and unwieldy, but that adds an element of surprise and mystique to the results.

The technique can be combined with anything from oil and watercolor paints to chalk, ink, photo transfers and fabric - even plaster and three-dimensional objects. Colors are mixed into or suspended in the wax, while objects are imbedded.

"It seems very complicated, but it is really quite simple," Woolf said. "Once you learn the basics, it's incredibly forgiving."

Susan Garwood, a Lincoln, Neb., artist, says, "Encaustic is fun to do and the product is mysterious and beautiful. I love the great depth you can achieve ... when stuff is about three layers down, it takes on a whole new meaning."

THE PROCESS

The encaustic process involves applying hot wax to a surface.

It is not for the faint of heart. There are some basic safety precautions. The wax medium becomes molten hot when it’s ready to apply, and if its temperature rises above 200 degrees F, the fumes become toxic.

For this reason, many artists work in well-ventilated studios.

Once the material melts and cools, the toxic danger passes.

Because encaustic involves fusing one layer of wax on top of one or more other layers, a heat source is needed. Artists use open-flame torchs, heat guns and irons specific to the task (not clothes irons).

Experiment to find the equipment that works best.

Materials can be found in local artists stores or online.