2027 Conference Schedule
We’re excited to celebrate this 20th year with you - stay tuned for other fun activities to be announced!
*Schedule may be subject to change as plans evolve. As listed below is the current lineup:
FRIDAY, June 4
8:30
Registration Opens
Coffee, Pastries, and Info Under the Tent
9:30 - 10:30
DEMO: Edith Beaty
Jumping into Wax!
Beginning a fun, safe, and fruitful (or productive?) journey into encaustic painting
Curious about encaustic painting, but have never tried it or need a refresher? Feel you lack the basics? Join this demo for a brief introduction to encaustic painting, how to set up a safe, efficient work space back home, acquire basic affordable equipment and supplies, and how to begin the process of creating stunning works!
DEMO: Megan MacDonald
Wax + Paper : An Exploration in Mark Making
The drawn line is the structure upon which a painting is built A simple line can say so much. A line can be bold, expressive, graphic, or delicate, the list is long. There is however nothing more beautiful or unique than the hand drawn line, as a hand drawn line expresses ones individual style. This demo explores ways to stay loose when creating lines, drawing and ways of marking in encaustic. Discusses the importance of the drawn line and ways that one can utilize it to give new depth and focus to their work. Through mark making, I will show various methods of drawing in, under and on the wax surface. Show and discuss ways to continuously pull lines, visually up through the surface of the encaustic painting, while exploring a variety of arts media to make marks and draw. Thus coming away with a better understanding of what media to use and when. experimenting with techniques to bring finer detail in to ones encaustic painting.
TALK : Milisa Galazzi
So you Want to Publish a Book or a Catalog?
You worked so hard to hang a beautiful show and the opening of the exhibition was well attended. Now is the calm after the storm and you have a few more weeks until you de-install the work. What do you do with your time? You create a show catalog from the install photos so that the exhibition is well documented and can live on past the close of the show. This self-published, professional-looking book will launch your art career from this show into your next opportunity. This talk will give you an overview of the ways in which you can self-publish a catalog of your work, document a solo or group exhibition, or launch a full-fledged book into the world via self, hybrid, or traditional publishing means. From random images and words in your computer files to a beautiful book-baby you can hold, this talk will give you all the tools and the confidence to finally publish the book you always wanted to create! Come learn about the myriad ways you can take the next step toward reaching your book publishing goals.
10:45 - 11:15
Welcome and Orientation for Newcomers
11:30 - 12:30
TALK: Susan Lasch Krevitt
Looking Back / Moving Forward
This image driven presentation looks back at the work & ideas of the Key-Note speakers who have helped shape the history of The International Encaustic Conference. Over the past two decades The Conference has invited artists, writers, curators and gallery owners to offer their unique perspectives and broaden our understanding of contemporary art and creative practices. Twenty years of inspiration behind us. A world of possibilities yet ahead!
TALK: Isabelle Gaborit
What Do We Mean When We Say a Painting Has Materiality?
What do we mean when we say that a painting has materiality? We often use the word to describe the physical qualities of a work—the surface, texture, layers, transparency, or the materials from which it is made. But materiality can be much more than the physical presence of a painting. It can shape how we think, how we see, and how we experience the act of making. In this illustrated talk, Isabelle Gaborit explores what it means to work with encaustic as a deeply physical and sensory medium. Rather than focusing primarily on technique, she considers the ways in which beeswax, pigment, heat, surface, and the artist’s body come together in the making of a painting.
DEMO: Dietlind Vander Schaaf
Creating Smooth, Even Surfaces
Many artists struggle to create a smooth surface in their work. In this demo, artist and R&F employee Dietlind Vander Schaaf will share all of her tips and tricks for laying down thin, even layers of encaustic. Whether you are working with mixed media, transferring an image, or layering encaustic medium over encaustic paint, learning how to apply and fuse without creating ridges is important. And it's not as hard as it sounds. Dietlind will walk you through important steps in terms of temperature, application, and fusing.
12:30 - 1:30
Catered Lunch Provided
1:30 - 2:30
DEMO: Jodi Reeb
Alternative Surfaces for 3D Forms
Learn how to build armatures using wire on paper clay to construct 3D forms. You will learn layering techniques to include alternative surfaces with encaustic such as rust & patinas with metallic paints, applying cloth and found objects as well as oil pigment sticks.
TALK: Rosemarie Langtry
An Introduction to Contemporary Encaustic/Wax Practices on the Island of Ireland
How is wax/encaustic evolving across Ireland? Who are the artists working with wax today, and how are they exploring its potential within contemporary art? This talk will explore the diverse and evolving world of wax/encaustic across the island of Ireland. Through artists’' work, studio practices, exhibitions, workshops and collaborative initiatives, it will consider how this ancient medium continues to inspire experimentation, innovation and new ways of working.
DEMO: Jeffrey Hirst
Collage with Paint Media
Jeff Hirst will demonstrate an experimental drawing process using collaged papers incorporating R&F Pigment Sticks and R&F Drawing Oils. Drawing from years of experimentation and his experience teaching Experimental Drawing both online and in person, Jeff will share a selection of processes he has developed to explore texture, layering, color, and spontaneous mark-making.
2:30 - 3:00 Break
3:00 - 4:30
PANEL DISCUSSION : TBA!
5:00
Last call at the Vendor Room
Gallery Stroll and other Events TBA
SATURDAY, June 5
9:00
Late Registration, Coffee, Pastries, and Info Under the Tent
Vendor Room Open
9:30 - 11:30
Keynote Lecture: Toby Sisson
The Artist as Truth-Seeker and Truth-Sayer
Artists act as a collective conscience — We question accepted norms and explore hidden realities to reveal the unjust and celebrate the overlooked. We translate subjective experiences into tangible forms through poems, songs, and pictures. We tell the stories that illuminate our own imaginations and captivate the larger world. In honor of the 20th International Encaustic Conference, Toby Sisson will speak about the art and artists that have guided her work and have inspired so many others, especially in these challenging times.
11:30 - 1:00
Break / Lunch Provided
The Gallery at Castle Hill will be open for viewing (just a couple minutes down the road)
1:00 - 2:00
DEMO: Kelly McGrath
Foundational Mold Making Techniques
Learn the basics of creating molds for encaustic! An intro into foundational mold making techniques, using two varieties of silicone, for casting objects in encaustic wax. The simplest reusable mold method and more advanced two-part processes will be touched upon.
TALK/DEMO: Patti Russotti
The Power of Play in the Creative Process
What happens when we stop thinking of our work as something we need to finish? What happens when we stop trying to control the outcome—and instead begin responding to what is happening in front of us? An image, a mark, a piece of paper, a piece of fabric, an object, an idea: we begin with something. Then we look. We respond. We alter. We obscure. We reveal. We layer. We scrape. We add. We take away. And then we respond again. This presentation explores play as an active creative practice—not as a break from serious work, but as a way of working that opens the door to curiosity, experimentation, intuition, happy accidents, and discovery.
DEMO: Bettina Egli
Fresco to Flame
Working with fresco materials and encaustic, we enter a process that is constantly evolving. Bettina will demonstrate how surfaces crack, layers disappear and re-emerge, wax transforms what lies beneath, and unexpected marks begin to suggest new directions. Rather than working toward a predetermined outcome, we practice responding to what is happening in the moment—observing, adapting, letting go, and integrating the unforeseen.
2:00 - 2:30
Break
2:30 - 4:00
DEMO: Karen Bright
Relief Transfer Collage
Learn my unique painting technique to create multi-layered, color rich, one-of-a-kind works of art. This demo will teach you how to make hot wax transfers and then apply, cold, to fine art paper. Acid-free printmaking paper (etching weight) will be used as the substrate.
TALK: Joanne Mattera
Celebrating Entrepreneurial Achievement in Encaustic and Wax
So much of the achievement in our encaustic world has been the result of entrepreneurial effort— sole proprietorships, some grown into small businesses; independent teachers, some creating schools; artists exhibiting, some creating galleries; and many lightbulb ideas that have gone on to become the foundations of our encaustic culture: books, gadgets, exhibitions, retreats. This slide talk will look at the pillars of the movement—paintmakers, a book, and a few artists who brought encaustic into the 20th Century--and how they have supported what came next. Interest in encaustic has grown exponentially since the first iteration of the International Encaustic Conference in 2007. This talk is not only a historical record, but a celebration of the extraordinary entrepreneurial efforts of so many in our community.
DEMO: Gabriela Sánchez
The Inked Surface - Wax, Ink & Expressive Encaustic Monotype
What happens when wax creates the first mark—and ink comes afterward to reveal, emphasize, and transform it? In this demonstration, Gabriela Sánchez will explore an expressive approach to encaustic monotype that begins with molten wax on a heated palette and continues with ink as a second layer of visual language. Rather than focusing on creating a perfect print, The Inked Surface embraces experimentation, spontaneity, and the dialogue between wax, ink, heat, and paper. Participants will see how a simple encaustic monotype can evolve through layering and response, creating surfaces that feel rich, organic, and completely unique.
4:10 - 4:45
Postcard Show: Sale Opens!
Other FUN TBA!
SUNDAY, June 6
9:00
Coffee, Pastries, and Info Available Under the Tent
Vendor Room Open
9:30 - 11:00
TALK: Chelsea Spengemann
Art Legacy Compass - Guidance for Managing, Downsizing, and Transitioning an Artist’s Studio and Estate
For her talk at Castle Hill, Chelsea will discuss the intersection of artists’ legacies, archives, and estate planning. Guidance for managing, downsizing, and transitioning an artist’s studio or estate, including organizing artwork and records, deciding what to keep, sell, donate, or archive, and planning for the future of your art and your legacy will all be addressed. Chelsea will clarify the importance of estate planning and provide resources for artists and their stewards as they consider how to sustainably care for creative work over the long term.