I always associate wax with candles.

But this versatile material has many more applications, one of the more intriguing of which I came across for the first time this week.

I’d gone along to Low Moor Paper Group, a weekly gathering of local people learning craft skills. And I’d been told to expect ‘something a little bit different’.

“Have you ever painted with wax?” came the question from Patricia Busfield, who set up the group with her friend Sue Hodgson. I replied that I hadn’t, so they set about showing me how.

Working with heat and coloured waxes is known as encaustic art. Blocks of wax are melted on to the surface of a hot iron or tool, then placed on to a special painting card surface.

The basic effects can then be transformed into abstracts, landscapes, fantasy scenes and other designs.

“We saw it being demonstrated about three years ago at a craft fair at Shibden Hall near Halifax,” says Sue. “I’d never heard of it before and was really impressed – it didn’t look difficult, and the results were amazing.”

The beauty of encaustic art – the word comes from the Greek ‘enkaustikos’ meaning to burn – is that you don’t need to be good at art to make a success of it.

“I can’t draw or paint, but using this technique I can produce something that is nice to look at,” says Patricia. “I enjoy the satisfaction of being able to produce a lovely finished artwork.”

Sue, who is chairman of the group, sits me down in front of a piece of painting card, about the size of standard greetings card. “What colours would you like to use?” she asks.

I select a purple-blue, a red and a white. Sue melts some of the wax blocks on to the iron – which is a special art tool rather than a domestic appliance – and passes it to me.

“Place it on to the paper and slide it across,” she says. Immediately, intriguing patterns are created.

My picture resembles a Lion, Witch And Wardrobe snow scene, with icy mountains in the foreground and a frozen lake behind.

I like it, yet Sue holds a block of green on to the iron and encourages me to change the design. Reluctantly, I place the iron on the card, slide it across, and a different picture emerges – a fiery scene. I’m then shown how to ‘paint’ a landscape using white and blue for the sky, and green on top for rolling hills. “Then you can use the edge of the iron to create grasses and birds,” says Sue.

Adds Patricia, the group secretary: “Nothing is set in stone, you can make a new picture very easily. That’s one of the reasons people enjoy it.”

As you progress and gain skills, the introduction of other low-heat accessories, such as stamping tools with small iron-shaped heads, allows further exploration and potential for encaustic art work.

The women – who attended a course in encaustic art in Lancashire – are neighbours and became friends when Pat broke her leg. “Sue came across with a card-making kit and it went on from there.”

They honed their skills and began making dozens of cards of all descriptions. Three years ago, they set up the paper craft group, who meet weekly at Low Moor Wesleyan Reform Church in Low Moor.

“My friend had started a card-making group in Lincolnshire,” says Sue. “We thought it would be a good idea. A lot of people love making cards, but don’t get the time, or maybe don’t have the space, to do it at home.”

Encaustic art is only one of a number of card-making techniques demonstrated at the session by Sue and Patricia. Others include matting and layering and quilling. They also make decorative gift boxes.

“We all make one or two cards each week,” says Sue, who has not bought a Christmas card for ten years. “It can save you so much money,” adds Patricia, who has not sent a shop-bought greetings card for at least four years. The group – whose members are aged from 22 to 85 – is going from strength to strength. It has benefited from cash injections from the community grant organisation Cnet, and from Bradford South Community Chest, which helped to buy materials.

Sue and Patricia showcase their talents and sell their wares at craft fairs around the district.

A cup of tea and a biscuit offers a welcome ten-minute break, before Patricia and Sue show me examples of the encaustic artwork they have created. From landscapes to flowers, it is all very striking and, as I had rightly been told, very different.

I come away having learned and mastered – well almost – a new skill in under an hour. Amazing.

  • Low Moor Paper Crafts group meets at Low Moor Wesleyan Reform Church, Union Road, Low Moor, on Monday night from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. The evening includes tea and biscuits. For more details contact Sue on (01274) 674381.