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Welcome to the 18th International Encaustic Conference
at Edgewood Farm in Truro, MA
Friday, May 30
 

9:30am EDT

Embedding (and Pouring) "Stuff" in Encaustic Painting!
Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
When do you embed actual objects – such as string, shells, glass, flowers, or a random shoe - into your encaustic paintings? When do you represent, abstract, or suggest images through mark making? Who has practiced these techniques over time? Do you pour wax to create a welcoming surface, or adhere them while painting? Together, we will explore these and other questions, issues, concerns, and fun in our practice.
Speakers
avatar for Edith Beatty

Edith Beatty

Edith Beatty maintains a studio in the village of Waterbury, Vermont. An artist most all of her life, she concentrates now on painting with oil and wax, expanding her array of surfaces, pigments, and design. Edie was born in Boston and has lived predominantly in the Northeast. She... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Woodshop

9:30am EDT

Hunting, Gathering, and Collecting: Expanding and Strengthening Your Creative Vision
Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
This approach is deeply connected to a daily practice and the expansion of your thought processes. It caters to individuals from all genres and disciplines who are eager to explore techniques that will enhance their studio practice. We will explore a variety of options and unveil a new realm of possibilities for merging the analog and digital worlds.
Speakers
avatar for Patti Russotti

Patti Russotti

Artist, Explorer, Maker and Educator, Patricia Russotti is passionate about examinations of nature, the alchemical magic that occurs within natural phenomena and the creative process.  Russotti’s current work is focused on entropy, negentropy, nature, and the small things she... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Painting Studio

9:30am EDT

The Renaissance of Antiquity: Ancient Painting Techniques Reinterpreted
Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Why and how to combine fresco and encaustic.
Speakers
avatar for Bettina Egli Sennhauser

Bettina Egli Sennhauser

kunstfreiraum GmbH
Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Upstairs in the Barn

10:45am EDT

Welcome and Orientation for Newcomers!
Friday May 30, 2025 10:45am - 11:15am EDT
New to the Conference or to Edgewood Farm?  Stop by for a quick check in and info session with Cherie!
Speakers
avatar for Cherie Mittenthal

Cherie Mittenthal

International Encaustic Conference Director
Cherie Mittenthal has her MFA from Purchase College of the State University of New York and her BFA from the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford. She is the Executive Artistic Director of Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill since 2002. She serves on the board of... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 10:45am - 11:15am EDT
Under the Tent

11:30am EDT

Boxes for Storing and Shipping Encaustic
Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
This demonstration will give Conferees the skills to construct simple storage and shipping containers for their encaustic work. They will learn how to construct a basic cardboard box and then adapt that “basic box” to protect and cushion the work. Conferees will also learn how to adapt the “basic box” in order for it to function as a reusable container for shipping work to galleries and museums.  I will also cover simple solutions to protect work when it is stored in the studio or in a gallery rack including constructing padded sleeves and removable “bumpers” to protect the edges and surfaces of work. Conferees will leave this demonstration with all of the basic skills needed to construct their own customized boxes, storage protection solutions and shipping containers. A handout with patterns will be provided.
Speakers
avatar for David A. Clark

David A. Clark

David A. Clark teaches encaustic printmaking across the United States and beyond, most recently teaching classes at Zijdelings in the Netherlands, R & F Handmade Paints, the Palm Springs Art Museum and Idyllwild Arts. His work has attracted national attention for its technical innovation... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Upstairs in the Barn

11:30am EDT

Getting Images Onto/Into the Surface
Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
This demonstration will show you how to add drawings, text, photo images, organic matter, gilding foils, and much more to your encaustic creations through the processes of collage and transfer.  Learn how to apply and prepare a wax surface for transfer & collage and how to layer and protect images after they are adhered.  The archival characteristics of these mixed media techniques will be covered.
Speakers
avatar for Tracy Spadafora

Tracy Spadafora

Tracy Spadafora is a professional artist and art teacher who received a BFA from Boston Univ. (89’) and MFA from SUNY New Paltz (95’). She has been a recipient of a Frances Kinnicutt Award, Blanche Coleman Award, St. Botolph Foundation Grant, and a couple of Somerville Arts Council... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Woodshop

11:30am EDT

Learning to See ∙ Developing Your Voice ∙ Participatory Lecture
Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Many are very interested in learning how to paint but sometimes may or may not be as interested in learning how to draw... But what if I told you that learning to draw would improve your painting skills significantly?! So, if you are a painter – I encourage you attend this participatory talk! No rulers, and no words like perspective or ellipses will be included! Kelly will guide you through a brief set of creative skill building exercises to bring back to your studio practice. The prompts and supporting discussion will strengthen your individual voice with new ways to experience seeing, and making lines translated to drawings with a fully engaged body and heart centered practice. Paper and Drawing Media will be Provided.
Speakers
avatar for Kelly Milukas

Kelly Milukas

Principal, Imagination Collaboration LLC
Kelly Milukas is an instructor, speaker, and art & science residency collaborator, an award-winning artist whose practice began as a sculptor and has expanded to multi-media painting including pastel and encaustic painting. Milukas’ solo exhibitions have been hosted at the Ronald... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Painting Studio

12:30pm EDT

LUNCH
Friday May 30, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Sandwiches catered by Far Land Provisions
Friday May 30, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Under the Tent

1:30pm EDT

Extreme Texture
Friday May 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
Are you ready to push your work to new heights? I will show you how to create deeply textured and layered paintings, embedding objects and carving the surface. You will learn many accretion techniques using  recycled materials as collage as well as excavating paint layers with clay tools.
Speakers
avatar for Jodi Reeb

Jodi Reeb

Jodi Reeb has been a full-time artist and teacher in Minneapolis for over 20 years creating paintings and sculptures. She received a BFA in Printmaking at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Her work has been shown nationally and is in numerous private and corporate collections... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
Woodshop

1:30pm EDT

2025 Conference Presenters and Workshop Instructors
Friday May 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
This slide presentation features the work of the Conference Presenters and Workshop Instructors  at The 18th International Encaustic Conference in 2025.  No one gets to see ALL the demos or take all the workshops! So much Encaustic, so many ways to use it!
Speakers
avatar for Susan Lasch Krevitt

Susan Lasch Krevitt

Susan Lasch Krevitt received her BFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. She majored in Sculpture and Material Studies. Lasch Krevitt uses new and repurposed textiles, rubber, cardboard, encaustic and whatever it takes to build abstract, free standing and wall hung sculptural... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
Painting Studio

1:30pm EDT

Encaustic Collage: A Survey Who’s Doing What? What’s Been Done and What’s New?
Friday May 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
What’s new in encaustic collage? Who has taken it to someplace new? This talk will inspire you to revisit tried and true techniques for new ideas and direction for your work.
Speakers
avatar for Debra Claffey

Debra Claffey

Debra Claffey is a visual artist who uses encaustic, oil, and mixed media in her work. She holds a BFA in Painting from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Tufts University and an Associate's Degree in Horticultural Technology from the University of New Hampshire... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
Upstairs in the Barn

3:00pm EDT

Ask Anything: A Deep Dive into Being a Working Artist
Friday May 30, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
"I have no more room - How do I find and set up a studio? I want to sell my art - How do I get my work into a gallery? This art thing is expensive - How do I make ends meet? I have so much going on with my family and my life - How do I juggle being an artist with everything else going on? I am not even sure what my art career can be - How do I define success and carve a career out of my passion?" These and many more questions will be discussed in this new roundtable format. David, Milisa and Lisa will lead and engage participants in a lively conversation. These three veteran artists have over 100 collective years of art making experience! They will create a brave space where they will pull back the veil of artists' secrets and discuss the joys, the challenges, and everything in between, of being an artist at any career stage. This newly created roundtable discussion is designed for veteran as well as first-time conference attendees. A robust conversation full of myriad take-aways is guaranteed!
Speakers
avatar for David A. Clark

David A. Clark

David A. Clark teaches encaustic printmaking across the United States and beyond, most recently teaching classes at Zijdelings in the Netherlands, R & F Handmade Paints, the Palm Springs Art Museum and Idyllwild Arts. His work has attracted national attention for its technical innovation... Read More →
avatar for Lisa Pressman

Lisa Pressman

Lisa Pressman, an American abstract painter, was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1958. She earned a BA in Art from Douglass College of Rutgers University and an MFA from Bard College. Recent exhibitions include Susan Eley Fine Arts in New York, NY; Addington Gallery in Chicago, IL... Read More →
avatar for Milisa Galazzi

Milisa Galazzi

Artist, Milisa Galazzi, is best known for her three dimensional hand sewn shadow drawings, her printed works on paper, and her richly layered abstract drawing and paintings - all of which explore the very nature of being human. Her work is held in private international collections... Read More →
Friday May 30, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Under the Tent
 
Saturday, May 31
 

9:30am EDT

KEYNOTE LECTURE
Saturday May 31, 2025 9:30am - 11:30am EDT
Speakers
avatar for Esperanza Cortés

Esperanza Cortés

Esperanza Cortés is a Colombian born multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Cortés’ passion for the mosaic of the Americas, its folk art traditions, rituals, music, dance and their ever evolving changes are at the core of her sculptures, paintings, installations, site-specific... Read More →
Saturday May 31, 2025 9:30am - 11:30am EDT
Under the Tent

1:00pm EDT

Encaustic Painting - Layers of Time and Process
Saturday May 31, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
This demonstration will delve into additive and subtractive techniques used in encaustic painting, focusing on how the layering of pigmented encaustic medium can create richly textured and tactile surfaces. Attendees will be guided through each step of the process, from applying heated encaustic medium and pigments to manipulating the surface through scraping, carving, and scoring. The demonstration will draw connections between the artistic process and geological transformations, showing how layers are constructed, eroded, and reshaped over time. Participants will experience how the physicality of encaustic painting mimics natural forces like erosion and decay, while also revealing textures and patterns inspired by the landscape. The goal of this demonstration is for attendees to gain a deeper understanding of encaustic painting’s unique characteristics, learning how to use its layering potential to create dynamic, multidimensional works. This session will appeal to artists seeking to explore encaustic's tactile qualities and its ability to evoke a sense of time, place, and transformation.
Speakers
avatar for Isabelle Gaborit

Isabelle Gaborit

Isabelle Gaborit  is a contemporary artist, though her preferred medium of encaustic is ancient. She graduated in 2006 with an honors degree in fine arts in Ireland. Since then, she has been exhibiting work extensively nationally and internationally in, among others, The United... Read More →
Saturday May 31, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Woodshop

1:00pm EDT

Ask Me Anything
Saturday May 31, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
In a structured conference with slide talks and demos, sometimes you just want a nice easy session when you can talk about whatever interests you without committing to an entire hour of one topic. This will be an informal 90 minutes of questions, answers, and conversation—whether it’s about encaustic specifically or art in general, or whether you’re curious about changes in the gallery world over the past few years, how much to promote yourself, how to find a mentor, or you just want to sit back and listen in. No charts, graphs, slides. Just talk. I’ve done a lot in the past 50 years of making, showing, curating, and writing about art, and I’m happy to share what I’ve learned. But your questions will drive the hour.
Speakers
avatar for Joanne Mattera

Joanne Mattera

In her almost five-decade career, Joanne Mattera has had 35 solo shows and participated in about 10 group shows annually, both national and international. Her most recent solo, From Dawn to Dusk, took place at Odetta Gallery in Manhattan in late 2019. Joanne’s curatorial projects... Read More →
Saturday May 31, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Upstairs in the Barn

1:00pm EDT

VISUAL Q&A: Why Paper and Encaustic
Saturday May 31, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Fine Art Paper Expert, Educator & Founder at Paper Connection International and the Art Annex, Lauren Pearlman teams up with nationally known artist, Milisa Galazzi to create this new conference format - a Visual Q&A. Lauren will physically show participants the basics of how paper is made IRL (in real life!). She will show how plant fibers are added to water and share the magic of pulling a sheet of paper from natural materials. Milisa will share how she uses Lauren's Japanese papers in some of her artwork. Together these inspiring teachers will answer the question, Why Paper and Encaustic by showing and telling conferees some of the behind-the-scenes joys and challenges of combining paper and wax. This format is different from a traditional demonstration because Milisa and Lauren will be sharing information about the materials and answering conferees' questions - they will not be making art in a how-to format. After attending this session early in the conference line-up, attendees can then visit Lauren's Japanese paper booth in the Vendor Room and possess a basic understanding of paper and how it supports working with encaustic.
Speakers
avatar for Lauren Pearlman

Lauren Pearlman

Paper Connection International
Lauren Pearlman Sugita (she/her/hers) has been a paper researcher, provider, educator,and maker for more than 30 years. In 1995, she founded Paper Connection International, LLC, a Providence, RI -based distributor of specialty art papers. Paper Connection has become an essential paper resource in North America- stocking mainly papers made from sustainable fibers made by traditional craftspeople. In addition to assisting artists find the ideal paper for their... Read More →
avatar for Milisa Galazzi

Milisa Galazzi

Artist, Milisa Galazzi, is best known for her three dimensional hand sewn shadow drawings, her printed works on paper, and her richly layered abstract drawing and paintings - all of which explore the very nature of being human. Her work is held in private international collections... Read More →
Saturday May 31, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Upstairs in the Barn

2:30pm EDT

Beyond the Cradle! (Alternative Substrates)
Saturday May 31, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
There are many ways to apply encaustic materials beyond the conventional cradled birch panel. This demo will include layering hot to cold applications on paper, creating alternative surfaces on wood with prepared boards (plaster, fresco, encaustic), and also demonstrate techniques in applying paint to three-dimensional surfaces.
Speakers
avatar for Karen Bright

Karen Bright

Owner, Studio Bright
Working in the abstract, Karen Bright’s painting and sculpture derive from an innate focus on the natural world and concern for the environment. The ancient method of encaustic – a fusing of beeswax and damar resin with pigment added for color – is harnessed through a process... Read More →
Saturday May 31, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
Woodshop

2:30pm EDT

Bridging Art and Technology: Mastering Social Media and Digital Content for Artists
Saturday May 31, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
In this session, I will focus on how artists can effectively use tools like artificial intelligence, design software, video and music editing apps, as well as social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to enhance their online presence. These are tools I use in my own practice, and I’ll share practical tips on how to integrate them into a successful digital strategy.
Speakers
avatar for Gabriela Sánchez

Gabriela Sánchez

Gabriela Sánchez Apodaca (born in Mexico City in 1972) is a visual artist with a degree in Textile Design and a master's degree in Visual Communication. She dedicates her full time to her art and has incorporated her academic background into her work.Sánchez Apodaca has established... Read More →
Saturday May 31, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
Upstairs in the Barn

2:30pm EDT

The Ecstatic Possibility of the Studio
Saturday May 31, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
What does it mean to make art in a time of turmoil? Can objects resonate beyond an artist’s private experience? Where and how can notions of the ecstatic be located in the studio and the work?  In light of social, political, and ecological change, tools are needed to envision art that can meet this moment, from intimate to global. If art is the expression of an individual experience of being in a body- and an act of empathy, can the studio become a space of transformation for artists and for the world? This talk/discussion will explore examples and strategies to strip away the unessential, and find ways to make work that is as urgent, honest, and close to the heart as possible.
Speakers
avatar for Patricia Miranda

Patricia Miranda

Patricia Miranda is an artist, curator, and educator, and founder of MAPSpace, and The Crit Lab, project space and professional critique org. She creates objects and installations using found textile, books,and paper, altered with handmade natural dyes and pigments as form, process... Read More →
Saturday May 31, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
Painting Studio
 
Sunday, June 1
 

10:00am EDT

Art Show and Sale
Sunday June 1, 2025 10:00am - 1:00pm EDT
You’re Invited!  
Sunday morning, we are opening up space at Edgewood for Conference attendees to show and sell their artwork!  Think hotel fair, but all in one space.  We will also open the doors to the  public to come by and have a peek!  This is a great opportunity to show our local community what this Conference is all about, and to share your work with a wider audience.   Tables will be provided, but you are responsible for setting up your work and handling all sales.  
If you are thinking about participating in the art show, please click the link below to fill out the form below so we can get a general idea of how much space will be needed.    
This is new for us too, so we want to make it a success! Comments, questions or suggestions welcome:
https://www.castlehill.org/art-show-sale
Sunday June 1, 2025 10:00am - 1:00pm EDT
Under the Tent
 
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