A Falcon, A Storm, or a Great Song

I am back from a transformative artist retreat in Rhode Island—Encaustic Alchemy: Shrines and Totems—and settling into summer at the lake.

I’ve spent this past week processing this sacred art experience led by Kelly Milukas and Dietlind Vander Schaaf. Photos and words cannot possibly capture what occurred. I arrived surrounded by strangers, ready to dig deep into my process and take advantage of uninterrupted studio time. Instead, surrounded by shrine sisters (shout-out to fellow artist, @dukeboys, for coining this term), I left with an invigorated practice and two new artworks that poured straight from my heart.

And it all started at The Emporium.

The Emporium at Milukas Studio. Tiverton, Rhode Island.

There were two things I loved about The Emporium. First, the selection of random materials—for an artist, it was like being a kid in a candy shop. Second, the instruction to only choose items that spoke to your heart. You might be drawn to grab something because it was interesting or beautiful, but if your heart didn’t truly want it, you were encouraged to put it back. Maybe that sounds obvious, or maybe it sounds a bit woo-woo, but it really worked for me.

Our first task was to create a shrine. Built to house, protect, or honor a specific sacred focal point, shrines are found across almost all cultures and religions—from Shintoism in Japan to Catholicism in Europe, and indigenous traditions worldwide. As someone working through loss on multiple levels, I knew exactly what my shrine would be dedicated to (see Careful). I brought a few materials from home (handmade ceramic birds, collage materials, and jewelry) and scavenged The Emporium for the rest. Once I had gathered all of my materials, I was ready to start assembling and get down to business with encaustic.

I worked morning and night in the studio, and this new work just poured out of me. Originally, I only planned for the shrine to have a front, but as I collected materials, I realized that to truly honor this particular part of my life, the piece needed two sides. When every artist was invited to share their work with the group, I had never felt safer to be so open and honest about a piece straight from the heart.

I’ve Been Having Dreams (FRONT) Found Materials, Photo Transfer, Stoneware, and Encaustic on Wood 2026

I’ve Been Having Dreams (BACK) Found Materials, Photo Transfer, Stoneware, and Encaustic on Wood 2026

Every morning, I walked out to the beautiful backyard at my Airbnb and started my day with yoga by the pool. Dietlind ended every practice with a beautiful poem. It was such an extraordinary way to set the tone for another day of creativity, introspection, and camaraderie. On rainy mornings, I was grateful for the extra hour of sleep after staying so late in the studio the night before!

Yoga by the Pool at Milukas Studio. Tiverton, Rhode Island.

Once our shrines were complete, we returned our leftover materials to The Emporium to start fresh and plan our totems. Across cultures, a totem serves as a powerful symbol of identity. While our shrines honored the past, the totems were meant to represent who we are today.

Kelly and Dietlind created a safe space for reflection, growth, and connection. Through guided movement, meditation, breathwork, visualization, and blind contour drawing, my heart led the way—guiding my choices on which pieces to take from The Emporium and which items from home to incorporate into the work. Below are some journal samples from these exercises that helped me plan my totem.

Pure joy! Collecting and gesso-ing sculpture materials in preparation for construction and encaustic.

Back to Beaches, Away We Go (FRONT) Encaustic and Gold Leaf on Found Materials, 2026

Back to Beaches, Away We Go (FRONT) Encaustic and Gold Leaf on Found Materials, 2026

Back to Beaches, Away We Go is a celebration of who I am, what makes me strong, and who I am becoming. The sculpture's shape abstractly represents the female form, with the central rectangular shape symbolizing the hips. Historically and biologically, hips are the ultimate symbol of fertility, creation, and the continuation of life. For me, they also symbolize pain, healing, and strength. Nearly ten years ago, I underwent major surgeries on both hips for impingement and labral tears. While the decision and the recovery were incredibly difficult, it was the right choice, and I am stronger and healthier today because of it.

Inside the open box is sparkly sand, symbolizing the beach. Both lakes and the ocean hold a deeply special place in my heart; sharing these spaces with my family and simply being near water brings me profound peace. The two small shells come from a necklace gifted to me by a dear friend from college, and each sits within its own mini shrine. They represent my sister and me, honoring our deep connections to the water and to each other.

The piece stands on a sturdy, strong base, which is actually a jewelry-making mold. This is a deliberate nod to my Master’s degree in metalwork and jewelry—my very first pursuit in exploring new media and truly finding myself as an artist. Hanging from the piece are fish, another reference to water, nature, and jewelry. They originally belonged to an extremely gaudy necklace I bought years ago at an antique shop in Montclair, NJ. I rarely wore it because it was quite "a lot of look," but for some reason, I just had to have it... and now I know why. These fish represent my immediate family: my incredibly supportive husband, my two teenage children, and our loving dog.

The very top of the totem was born from a creative scavenger hunt. While working in my journal—writing my name over and over backwards with my eyes closed—we were asked to find interesting shapes within the letters. I found myself drawn to the letter "A." This immediately made me think of my middle name, Anne, given to me in honor of my maternal grandmother, Anna. I legally gave up this name when I married to take on my maiden name, Engfer. (Side bar: Did you know you can only have three legal names?!)

I have always felt a powerful connection to my grandmother. She passed away when I was 12, but I believe I carry on many of her traits—her scrappy nature, her love of reading and cooking, and her natural ability to work with her hands as a seamstress. In fact, I still wear her housecoat as a smock when I create.

Knowing all this, I knew I needed an “A” to crown the totem. It was the one item I couldn't find in the Emporium, so I took a ride into town to a fantastic vintage shop. There, I found an old, triangular-shaped iron trivet that worked perfectly for the top, bringing the entire story together.

Artemis Antiques in Tiverton, Rhode Island

I am so grateful to my shrine sisters for a week of innovation, connection, laughter, and poetry. I’ll leave you with one of my favorites from the week..

Widening Circles by Rainer Maria Rilke.

I live my life in widening circles

that reach out across the world.

I may not complete this last one

but I give myself to it.

I have been circling around God, that primordial tower.

I’ve been circling for thousands of years and still I don’t know:

am I a falcon, a storm, or a great song?

Source: https://www.ericaengferpizza.com/

Y'all

Y’all know that I can’t get enough of encaustic these days. As I become more comfortable with the medium, I’ve considered incorporating it with other techniques close to my creative heart. After a visit to Hatch Show Print in Tennessee in the Fall, I was invigorated.

A work table at Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tennessee

Established in 1879, Hatch Show Print reflects the history of American advertising and entertainment as one of the oldest letterpress design and print shops in America. Each Hatch Show Print poster is a unique creation hand crafted with a technique that dates back several centuries. The process, known as letterpress, involves selecting or carving images in wood or linoleum, then inking and pressing these elements to form a poster or print.

Smelling ink and rolling presses feels like home to me. Enter fantasies of me moving my family to Nashville and working for this print studio creating concert posters and carnival ads. Enter the reality of finding ways to combine encaustic and printmaking in my basement studio.

I have pulled about 100 monoprints over the Fall and Winter and have been finding ways to incorporate them into my abstracted nature works. Stay tuned.

Hustle

Years ago, before my beloved art friend moved to Hawaii (see Constant State), we took a trip to Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, NJ to see a fibers show. I vividly recall being impressed not only by the exhibition itself but also by the museum's historic building. Originally constructed as a mill in 1763, this structure played a crucial role in grinding wheat for General George Washington's revolutionary army during its encampment in Morristown. In 1953, the mill was transformed into an art museum, preserving its rich history while serving as a cultural hub in Hunterdon County.

The structure exudes a sense of history and comfort. Its galleries are intimate, saturated with abundant natural light streaming in through numerous windows. That fibers exhibition felt oddly familiar, like coming home. I resonated with the artists and their creative hustle. I sensed that this was a space where my work belonged too.

13 years and 2 kids later, that intuition has become a reality. After a lot of dedication to my practice and my own creative hustle, my artwork is part of the 2023 Juried Members Exhibition at Hunterdon Art Museum.

Shoutout to my niece, Margot, and my brother and sister-in-law for sharing a picture of the banner outside the museum on opening weekend. This image overwhelmed me with immense pride and cuteness overload, of course! The clip below is an explanation of the work included in the show and how it relates to my creative journey over the past two years.

If you are in the area, I highly recommend checking out the space and show between now and January 7, 2024.

100%

I am emerging from the wonders of summertime, packing away the sunscreen and towels, and prepping my classroom for my 21st year of teaching high school art and art history. This transition is always difficult for me (enter eye roll here if you don’t have a summer break).

While I am grateful to be able to work with young artists everyday, the demands of teaching often slow down my own creativity. Like all things, this is something that I’ve managed to accept and find balance in. Over the past several summers, I have settled into the rhythm of working intensely on my own practice, and giving myself some grace over the school year. It is so important for me to recognize that I can not give 100% to all of the things all of the time. I was in 100% Art Making Mode this summer and I had the opportunity to work on a very special commission.

My dear friends, Liisi and Walter Lascarro, built a beautiful home in our neighborhood several years ago. It is classic and cozy and tucked in the trees on a hill. I was so excited to gift them a work inspired by the Denville Farmer’s Market when they first moved in, honoring Liisi as the founder. Several years ago, I was delighted to add to their Engfer Pizza collection when I created a print of their home that sits in the nook over their piano.

Every time we sit around their large kitchen island at the many gatherings they host, Liisi tells me about how she needs to find something to hang on the blank wall in her dining room. For years, I’ve suggested a giant mirror and she always shoots me down and says it needs to be artwork. As someone who hangs pictures on a wall the day I move in, I can appreciate her patience in finding the right piece to fill the space.

When I was driving home from Vermont in June, flying high from a week of abundant creativity, it occurred to me that my passion for abstracting the landscape might be exactly what Liisi and Walter’s blank wall needs. I suggested using our lake landscape as inspiration for an artwork and they were immediately on board. We agreed to collaborate on the work and all came to the kitchen island with ideas and suggestions. From this, I drafted ideas and thumbnails.

I knew that Liisi and Walter had a collection of large coffee bean bags from the Denville Farmer’s Market. I suggested incorporating these into the work as a wink and a nod. When I started sorting and cutting up the bags I came across two magical words: 100% and Family. I was thrilled to discover this and incorporate it into the work.

Installation Day! Shout out to Pete Pizza for always fully supporting my endeavors.

100% Family Acrylic and Collage on Canvas 48” x 36” Diptych 2023

I am so grateful to have a community of people who encourage and motivate my work. Making art is often a difficult and vulnerable endeavor, but my heart drives me to do it anyway. It helps to know that my appreciation for the lake landscape can be shared with others. Thank you to Liisi and Walter for supporting a local artist.

If you are interested in collaborating on a house or landscape commission for you home, let’s chat!

Wishing Hoping Thinking

Coming back from Vermont with a dedication to my work is no small task. Artmaking is a little different when you’re not purely focused on it in the mountains of Vermont. I started my return to reality with a walk to our favorite dock for drawing with my daughter and dog. My intention is to translate what I practiced in the Vermont landscape to my home landscape

Growing up in a lake community in New Jersey was a magical experience. I was always awestruck by the lake landscape - deep blue and green waters, rolling mountains in the distance, with exciting skies that evolve in extraordinary ways throughout the day. As an adult, I planted roots in another lake community so my children could grow up in similar surroundings. Drawing together allowed me to explain how transformative my trip to Vermont was and how it encouraged me to see the landscape in a new way. By returning to the basics of contour and blind drawing, I am able to capture what the landscape feels like.

The past few weeks I have been able to carve out several hours of studio time a day. The summer is the most realistic time for me to do this, so I need to take advantage of it! I recently completed my first set of paintings since returning home - Wishing, Hoping, and Thinking.

Wishing 10” x 10” Encaustic and Collage on Wood 2023

Hoping 10” x 10” Encaustic and Collage on Wood 2023

Thinking 10” x 10” Encaustic and Collage on Wood 2023

These three paintings are meant to be shown together as one work, also known as a triptych. I often work this way. It allows me to tell a visual story, returning to my roots in bookmaking.

Wishing Hoping Thinking 31” x 10” Encaustic and Collage on Wood 2023

The NJ waters and mountains provide peace, solitude, and rejuvenation to their inhabitants. I am translating the landscape through edges and color with a focus on shapes and values. These three abstracted encaustic panels move the viewer with the water and through the trees and mountains. I hope you enjoy the journey.

Unforgettable Fire

Another year down and I am transformed. Breaking down the studio and packing up new work feels like an ending and a beginning. I have so much inspiration to process and take home to my studio. My biggest takeaway from this week is how important it is to return to the basics - in art and in everything else.

Shapes and community.

Color and farm fresh food.

Value and values.

Thank you to Lorraine Glessner and Kelly Milukas and to all the beautiful women who I worked (and laughed!) with this week. After a thoughtful showcase of our work, I said goodbye to Peter, the resident farm cat who attended all workshops this week. I stocked up on Vermont syrup, said farewell to many lovely ladies, and hit the road.

I didn’t buy THAT much syrup but was delighted by the image of a shopping cart full of it!

The entire ride home, I couldn’t help but see the landscape as shapes and shadows and can’t wait to use wax and fire to depict them.

Leap

This week, I was surrounded by supportive teachers, delightful classmates, and breathtaking nature. This trifecta environment allowed me to leap forward in my work and my confidence. I am so grateful to be supported in all aspects of my life so that I can find these small pockets of time to purely focus on art making.

We observed the river for quite a while today - its shapes and the way it moves.

We looked closely at the rocks and documented how the water moves around them. They are the constant and the water will always ebb and flow to get where it needs to. So many opportunities for metaphor here - in life and in work - and more specifically the commitment it takes to be an artist with a regular practice.

River Studies. The left side is an abstracted observation of the river itself. On the right side are patterns created to mimic the sounds of the river and nature.

We were given a lot of time this afternoon to work independently and dive deep into our practice. I can’t help but be prolific here. It’s easy for me to be in the zone with zero distractions and materials at my fingertips.

It’s the dedication to the work when I return to reality that matters now. I am ready to take on this challenge and leap into summer!

Crush Beauty

Today started with another rigorous morning of seeing and drawing exercises. This kind of study takes intense focus and isn’t fun. Understanding and practicing how to translate the world onto a surface is hard work. But this foundation sets the stage for the freedom to play later.

Yes - that is a giant pencil that we had to draw with - holding it like a toddler with our non-dominant hand.

I have always thought about light in my work in the sense of the lightest lights and darkest darks. I believe this is an important guideline and I teach it to my students too. But these past few days of getting back to the basics of value- especially value in terms of color- have completely shifted how I will approach light in the future.

The afternoon was time for another extremely important reminder… that you can make any color in the world with a set of THREE primary colors (Red, Blue, and Yellow). And from that phenomenon, you can then create an infinite amount of tints using white. As a new encaustic painter (about 15 months), it had never occurred to me to start with the primaries. Instead, I was mixing from colors that a manufacturer created. How boring! And yet, another reminder of why returning to the basics is so important!

This revelation allowed me to be much more confident and free when working with encaustic and I was a painting machine today. I worked up quite an appetite from all the rigor and play and was delighted to find word magnets at the restaurant while waiting for dinner. These will always make me think of college and also my favorite ninja poet, Maya Stein.

Why do I NOT own word magnets!? It was a good set too!

Crush Beauty by Erica Engfer Pizza

I’m the best kind of exhausted by crushing beauty today. I might swim badly tomorrow (stay tuned). And I definitely enjoyed these views walking out of the studio and up to my room.

Good night.

Back to Basics

Everything is so simple here. The meals are impossibly fresh and sourced from the farm on site. The rooms are uncomplicated and cozy. I wake up, eat breakfast, and make art. Eat lunch, make art. Eat dinner, make art. Sleep and repeat.

Today’s workshop was so simple yet challenging and rigorous. Our instructors brought us back to the foundations of artmaking and we practiced exercises I hadn’t done in 20 years. It was refreshing to strip everything back and start from the beginning again… to really make yourself see what’s in front of you. To find the line, the shape, and the value. To draw for the sake of drawing. To be open to possibilities and new visual languages.

Tomorrow our value studies will transform into upside-down color. I’m not exactly sure what that means but I am here for it and excited to find out!

Constant State

I planned to write about how thrilled I am to be back in Vermont because my memory does not disappoint… This place is truly magical! But when I opened my journal to start writing, a blank postcard fell out and it immediately made me think of my grad school art friend, Jamie R Allen.

I have several “art friends.” These are people who I value for being amazing humans in general but the bonus is that when they are in town, I know an art adventure is certain. One of these friends moved to Hawaii about 13 years ago and works there as a successful fine artist. We always plan an art adventure when she is home and over time, we also became ART pen pals.

Every few months, we connect through the mail. We send each other mini artworks, postcards from a good show we’ve seen, and other little surprises (stickers, articles, cool leaves, etc). The best days are when I check the mail and come across a gem from Hawaii. Artists are collectors and it’s a beautiful thing to share some of the things you come across.

Creativity is a constant state of being for me. I am always mentally and physically collecting visuals, materials, and ideas. If you see me staring off into the distance, I am probably thinking about how I can turn an idea into artwork OR… I’m thinking about what time I need to feed my kids dinner so they can make it to their activities on time!

Speaking of, my son asked me this morning why I need to go all the way to Vermont to make art. Valid question, kid. I explained that it is important for artists to have time to only focus on their art without other distractions. Mom guilt aside, I hope to be setting an example of what it means to follow your passion.

Here’s to an important week of transforming my collections into visual expressions (Jamie’s postcard included).

Forever

In light of recent events, I’ve been coming back to this work again in my mind.

Forever 2022 Encaustic and Collage on Paper

When I returned from my Vermont Retreat this summer, I knew exactly how I was going to incorporate encaustic into my work. Forever was a part of the show Pages at Studio Montclair in Fall 2022. I was thrilled to be a part of this exhibit because I have great respect for the curator, Pam Cooper, and showing work with other bookmakers felt like coming home. I was first introduced to bookmaking during my undergraduate studies and immediately fell in love.

We were asked to create an audio file to supplement the work in the show. Below, I describe the work and subject matter in detail.

Erica Engfer Pizza - Forever

Visual Language

I am the best kind of exhausted. Over this week I have learned a brand new media, been completely uncomfortable trying something new, and spent time with only strangers (who I would now call artist friends). I opened my website and artwork up for critique to two artists who I highly respect and look forward to using their feedback to better myself and my visual presence. I am inspired and motivated to get home and get to business (after lots of family snuggles, of course). If only I could bring the inn cooks and view home with me!

The catalyst for this trip was to to reignite my spark for creating. I communicate through art and had lost my visual language. This week reminded me how to speak that language in old and new ways. Being able to monoprint with wax - painting on a surface and transferring the image onto paper - is bringing my past practice into a new practice. I pulled dozens of sheets over the past few days in preparation for my next work. Stay tuned..

Tomorrow morning is for finishing up our works, a group critique, and fond farewells. In a lot of ways, this week is the beginning of the next adventure.

Arranging and Playing

Today was for cutting out imagery and to arrange and play with collage. These collages will be embedded inside of encaustic - a molten wax that can be applied to the surface and fused together layer by layer.

Collaging is my jam. I love collecting and cutting and arranging. There is something so cathartic about the process and the fun of the final product- the surreal little stories you can tell while playing with scale and space. There is so much potential to combine this with encaustic. One problem though… I’ve never really used encaustic and have no idea what I’m doing.

If you know me (if you’re reading this, you probably do), you know that I can be, let’s say, particular. I hold high expectations for myself and the people around me. While I have worked for many years on letting go, trying something brand spanking new in art feels insane. How can I be amazing at something if I have no idea what I’m doing?

Thankfully, my instructors are fantastic at breaking down the technicality of encaustic while encouraging me to find ways to connect it to my artistic style. As a teacher, i value proper instruction and encouragement (see previous paragraph) and am so grateful to have these talented women guiding me. Lorraine and Leah’s guidance allowed me to let go and just play. I still don’t really know what I’m doing but I do know that I’m having fun doing it.

Below are some panels that I worked on today. I’m not sure if they are finished or works in progress. That’s the beauty of encaustic- You can layer until the cows come home (or pigs and chickens if we’re talking about this particular farm) and choose to hide/reveal whatever is beneath it.

I am embracing the fact that I am truly not sure yet. Now that I have a better understanding of this new medium, I am really excited to see what tomorrow brings.

Oh! You guys! I met a local celebrity! The granddog of Hercules from Sandlot. This is a BIG deal in my house. Say hello to the giant and gentle, Phoebe.

Road Cherries

Today I arrived in Vermont for an artist retreat. In preparation for an individual critique with my instructors, I knew I needed to dust off this site. That’s the whole purpose of this trip, actually.. to dust off my artwork. It’s pretty telling that my last blog post is from from 3/20/20. As an art teacher, the last two and a half years have taken a lot out of me. In doing everything I could to keep my students engaged and keep my own children on track in this new landscape, I lost my spark to create. My intention for this week is to dig deep and get it back.

On my solitary drive up here, I chuckled to a David Sedaris audiobook, rocked out to an entire DMB concert (who ever has time for THAT!?), and couldn’t resist stopping at a charming farmstand on the border of NY and VT. When I texted a friend who coined my snack “Road Cherries,” I knew I was heading in the right direction. Stay tuned…

We Consume, We Become

We Consume, We Become.Collage and Colored Pencil on Paper

We Consume, We Become.

Collage and Colored Pencil on Paper

Time has slowed down these past few days.

I am more present with my children, my husband, and my surroundings. It’s funny how something so scary can, in a way, be a path towards peace.

For now.

Less news and more walks.