Behind a 4-foot by 6.5-foot plate of glass, Charlie Levin whipped out the wax.

The artist brushed her hot medium onto her glass canvas with slow strokes, then intermittently scraped off dried wax and used a blow torch to melt and blend the colors.

This demonstration was Noyes Cultural Arts Center’s way of kicking of Arts Week Evanston on Saturday by challenging visitors to take a fresh look at art through the medium of wax. The opening reception of “Waxing Eloquent,” a showcase in contemporary wax painting and sculpture, gave visitors an opportunity to watch the creation of wax painting.

Levin created on of her works for a live audience during the reception. She said she believes wax has a naturally appealing quality.

“Everybody remembers as a kid loving to play with wax,” she said. “(Wax painting) is all that fun taken to another level.”

The use of wax for painting and sculpting dates back to the second century, when the Egyptians used the medium for funeral portraits. Its use gradually declined once oil paint was invented during the Middle Ages.

The technique recently experienced a resurgence of popularity with the modern development of heating equipment that could maintain wax at an ideal temperature for painting.

During the demonstration behind the glass, the audience could see one set of images being slowly formed on one side of the canvas but was unaware that on the back of the glass, a completely different set of images was being simultaneously created on top of the first layer of wax.

The finished product was a two-sided, multi-layered work of art that prompted a standing ovation.

“It’s a really challenging element to work with,” said Sue Flachsbart, a Chicago resident. “The technicalities of working with wax, the use of the blow torch, the duality, what we see on each side — it’s a really neat concept.”

Levin said she prefers the live creation of wax paintings as opposed to painting in the studio because it allows the audience to watch the work come together.

“The audience gets to see it build up and change and experience the surprise to see the back,” she said. “(The painting) is a life and a process. Like all things in life, it contains all the parts of the process that come before, but is also different from them as well.”

“Waxing Eloquent” also features dozens of other examples of wax painting and sculpture from other contemporary artists with themes ranging from cartoon characters to T-shirts. Though Levin’s live painting was only a one-time, featured event, the exhibit at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., will be open through Nov. 12.

For more information about Evanston Arts Week, visit www.cityofevanston.org/Departments/Parks-Forest-Rec/ArtsWeek/index.html.