I am honored everyday I have the opportunity to teach. I always say to my students “I would not be in front of the classroom if it weren’t for you. You make it possible for me to spread my love of art!”
It is my privilege to share some of their kind words and amazing work here in my Student Gallery
“Although I had been working with encaustics for awhile, I decided to take Jaya’s workshops. I completed her Intro, Surface Mastery, & Beyond Black & White workshops. They were all of great value & feel I saved years of struggle if I had just continued on my own.” – Dakota
“I had dabbled a bit with encaustic wax before taking Jaya’s class, but had used a Hot Box to apply wax onto paper rather than start by applying encaustic wax on a board. Jaya’s class presented a form of art that I could start creating on my own immediately without requiring a large investment in equipment. If you are so inclined, you can walk away from her encaustic class with sufficient skills and knowledge about tools to start up your own encaustic wax art studio. Jaya is a superb teacher. Her spirited enthusiasm is infectious and her one-on-one positive guidance helps you adjust and hone your techniques and encourages experimentation. I highly recommend this blast of a class to anyone who loves to play with color and imagery in a new, albeit ancient way.” – Suzi
“I’ve taken several encaustic classes from Jaya and they were all a positive learning experience. She covered the principals, materials, processes, options and outcomes of the encaustic process all with great knowledge and enthusiasm. Jaya, encourages her students to experiment with the process and the materials rather than trying to create a finished work of art during the course of the workshop. My experiences were all fun and exciting and left me wanting to learn more about the wonderful world of encaustic!” – Chris
“I attended Encaustic workshops in San Jose, beginning through advanced. I especially enjoyed the free form workshops. Jays is a fun and patient teacher, I tend to forget the rules, very inportant rules. Jaya was always there to calmly remind me.” – Helen B.
“I have taken several encaustic workshops from Jaya and through her classes I discovered a new art that I love. Jaya has inspired me, challenged me and encouraged me to in a humorous loving way to explore beyond what I think I can do. I am forever grateful to Jaya.” – Yvette
Encaustic Student Work
“Jaya always starts her encaustic workshops with safety precautions, especially about handling heat guns, then goes over steps for applying and working with wax. She takes time to help each student with methods for achieving effects with extra materials brought to the session as well as those she supplies. I have taken a basic encaustic workshop and “Encaustic 2″, then signed-up for ‘workdays’ after each one to continue and complete works in progress. I have enjoyed learning encaustic artwork methods from Jaya; she is a ‘stern taskmaster’ when it comes to observing safety precautions and in reminding students to take time with the photo transfer process, but always friendly and encouraging to each student. With small enrollment–6 or 7 students max–she is able to help each of us individually to achieve the effects we want to with techniques she teaches with a variety of materials. I look forward to registering for another workshop.” – Helen A.
“I’ve taken several classes from Jaya and always have been pleased with what I’ve learned. What I like about her instruction (besides her enthusiasm) is her willingness to take each student at her/his own level of experience. Jaya provides carefully planned lessons, demonstrates relevant technique, and divides evenly her assistance to members of her class. Jaya is always positive with suggestions and gently pushes everyone to do their best work.” – Judy
“I recently took an acrylic class with Jaya and loved her class and her teaching style. At one time I was a Performance Consultant and Educational Trainer for the community colleges. I wanted to say how impressed I was with Jaya’s outline for the class, her clear and fun instructions and the perfect delivery of the material. She is an “Instructor’s Instructor!” I signed up for two more classes.” – Suzanne
Acrylic Student Work
“I’ve taken other color classes, read books, and made many color wheels over the years but Jaya’s color mixing workshop was hands-down the best color education I’ve had. Jaya shared her color knowledge and experience in well-paced lecture segments then turned us loose with focused color mixing exercises that gave us immediate hands on practice. I was able to clearly see for myself the outcome of many mixes and enjoyed several “ah-ha” moments as I quickly became better at really “seeing” color and understanding why certain mixes were successful and others weren’t. I really appreciated that Jaya took time to come around and answer questions or provide one-on-one help while we were doing the exercises. Jaya is an engaging, organized, knowledgeable teacher and I highly recommend her “Acrylic Color Mixing” workshop.” – Linda
“Your Mud to Miracles workshop was the best artists workshop I’ve ever attended hands down! It was the perfect blend of technical information and why/how it matters in actually making art. Thank you so much!” – Dave
“Thank you so much for offering your amazingly eye-opening color mixing course. Your energy and enthusiasm was infectious. I feel as though a whole new world has opened up and I haven’t been able to stop looking at all the colors around me, thinking about how to mix them and how they would look side by side on paper. I look forward to taking another class from you!” – Vicki
Watercolor, Ink & Gouache Student Work
“Gorgeous colors, fluid lines, subtle mixing techniques. We painted with calligraphic inks in Jaya’s workshop in San Jose. When is the next one? I’m hooked.” – Sandhya
“Thank you for in depth lessons. Thank you for helping me see how old habits are holding me back. I see you are teaching me the discipline needed to achieve my goals. So glad you have the sensitivity to see deeper into my heart and actions. I need to let go of old ways to embrace my new lessons. This will take time but every time we meet the new lessons are helping me let go of the old. Thank you also for helping me think in different ways about color, design, working hard and trusting the process. I am truly grasping the need for change. Change must happen on many levels for me to discover the artist I am and am becoming. A huge chunk of fear cracked and fell away from me. I’m so happy you are my teacher and my friend. Real friends speak the truth.” – Constance