painting with fire

2024 - 2025 | Online Workshop offered through Essence of Mulranny

I am one of 28 faculty teaching in this year’s Painting With Fire online year-round workshop. I will be offering my Mark Making + Meaning virtual workshop as part of this year’s roster. Classes delivered each Wednesday approximately 12 noon EST as prerecorded video and once they are available you can watch whenever you wish. Lifetime access to all classes. Weekly classes are approximately 60 mins or longer. Work along, at your leisure or just watch, and jump in when you are ready. There will also be basic instruction videos as a bonus, if you need to review the basics.

Next Level: scaling up with encaustic

11/9 - 11/10/24 | Woodstock School of Art, Woodstock, NY FULL - WAITLIST ONLY

In this class students will focus on developing a deeper understanding of color and composition while mastering the technical challenges of working with encaustic. Dietlind will discuss her experiences growing her practice and demonstrate ways of achieving a smooth, even surface. Facilitated writing exercises will enhance your understanding of what your work is about. Discussions will include balance, tension, value, and contrast, as well as opaque and transparent colors, color mixing, mark making, and discovering what tools you need to take your practice to the next level. During the workshop students can work on any sized panel up to 16" x 20". Each student will have 1:1 time with the instructor to review challenges and obstacles as they take their practice to the next level.

Encaustic: color + composition Intensive

2/20 - 2/23/25 | Kelly Milukas Studio, Tiverton, RI FULL - WAITLIST ONLY

In this four day immersive workshop in the charming farm-coastal community of Tiverton and Little Compton, Rhode Island, Kelly Milukas and Dietlind Vander Schaaf will take you on a deep dive into color and composition. Appropriate for both representational and abstract artists, this intensive workshop will focus on value, selecting a palette, color mixing, color relationships, how to improve your paintings by tackling issues related to composition, as well as working with opaque and transparent colors. Students will learn to see light as shape and color that informs composition. Continental breakfast and gourmet lunch are included. Open Studio hours will be held each evening. Students must have a basic familiarity with encaustic.

sacred art: shrines + totems

6/22 - 6/27/25 | Kelly Milukas Studio, Tiverton, RI Register here

This six day artist retreat is for those who are looking to deepen their practice through an exploration of art making, design thinking, and mindfulness. In this workshop you will build both a unique shrine and a totem with a focus on surface treatments (collage; casting and embedding objects in wax; image transfer; creating texture; color mixing; mark making; and working with other compatible painting and drawing mediums). We will explore the way art can honor loss, mark change/transition, ignite transformation, and serve as an extension of mindfulness practice. The retreat includes 1:1 time with two instructors, a sound bath, daily yoga sessions, access to a meditation garden; a heated salt water pool; and delicious, healthy meals (continental breakfast, gourmet lunches, and two group dinners). A basic understanding of encaustic is required, including application and experience fusing with a torch.

ENCAUSTIC: Layers, Translucency + See Throughs

7/13 - 7/18/25 | Wild Rice Retreat, Bayfield, WI Register here.

Layers & Translucency focuses on building encaustic paintings from the ground up addressing what can be done directly onto a substrate, between layers of medium, and on the surface, as well as how to create a smooth even surface. Demonstrations will include working with various materials such as ink, charcoal, Pan Pastel, oil pastel, pencil, graphite, small metal objects, and R&F Pigment Sticks. Emphasis will be placed on creating a sense of radiant light, on the balance and weight of composition, and on expressing meaning through an exploration of accumulating marks, drawings, and image transfers at varying levels. Materials used include encaustic paint and medium, Pigment Sticks, Blending Medium, Pan Pastel, charcoal, graphite, oil pastel, Deco Foil, and India ink. Begin your day with a light breakfast, practice yoga, enjoy brunch, take walks in nature, paint for hours, and then slip into the sauna. Each student will have 1:1 time with the instructor. Participants should have a basic mastery of encaustic technique.

Encaustic, Mindfulness + The natural world: An ARtist retreat

8/13 - 8/20/25 | Essence of Mulranny, Mulranny, Ireland Full - WAITLIST ONLY

In this special retreat at Essence of Mulranny in Mulranny, Ireland, students will focus on their connection to the natural world through practices that cultivate a deeper sense of mindfulness. The purpose of this workshop is to leave participants feeling deeply relaxed and renewed. Activities will include yoga, proprioceptive writing, visits to local sites, meditative walks in nature, drawing and mark making exercises, and painting. We will take inspiration from the natural world - incorporating dried plant material, using fresh leaves as stencils, transferring drawings, and interpreting the landscape abstractly with encaustic paint. Materials used will include encaustic paint and medium, Pigment Sticks, Blending Medium, Pan Pastel, charcoal, graphite, oil pastel, Deco Foil, and India ink. Begin your day with a light breakfast, practice yoga, take walks in nature, and paint for hours. Each student will have 1:1 time with the instructor. Participants should have a basic mastery of encaustic technique.

Layers: Next Level

8/22 - 8/24/25 | Kunstfreiraum, Oberwil, Switzerland Register here

This three day workshop will emphasize what can be done between layers of encaustic with a focus on mark making and working with paper. Students will learn how to skillfully embed collage elements, including encaustic monoprints, as well as create their own unique prints using dye and wax as a resist. You will also incorporate ink and asemic writing, as well as learn techniques that allow you to transfer drawings and marks. The goal will be to create paintings that are uniquely personal and convey a sense of optical depth. This workshop will be co-taught by Dietlind and Bettina. The working languages ​​will be English and German.

Advanced Teacher Training

10/25 (virtual), 11/2 - 11/6/25 (in person) | Woodstock School of Art, Woodstock, NY FULL - WAITLIST ONLY

R&F’s Advanced Teaching Intensive includes lectures, group discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on work time. The goal of this workshop is to help participants develop the skills they need to design and implement masterful, well-organized, and fun encaustic workshops. I will review fundamental techniques and introduce a variety of additional options in layered imagery, mark making, and mixed media. There will be an emphasis on clear explanations of the properties of wax-based paint such as opacity, building layers, and the relationship of wax and oil. Studio time focuses on creating project templates and sample panels as a record of your experiences, and to share with your future students as visual aids. Assignments include creating two workshop proposals with complete syllabi and a 30 minute group practice teach.

maine coast Encaustic retreat

9/7 – 9/13/25 | The Colony Hotel, Kennebunkport, ME Full - WAITLIST ONLY

9/14 – 9/20/25 | The Colony Hotel, Kennebunkport, ME Full - WAITLIST ONLY

A unique week-long retreat experience in beautiful Kennebunkport, Maine - the Maine Coast Encaustic Retreat is not to be missed. Choose from a range of mini workshops to create your own unique experience. Opt for yoga in the morning. Enjoy meals with new friends. Sip a cocktail by the pool. Explore during open studio hours. The Maine Coast Encaustic Retreat was founded 13 years ago and continues to sell out quickly.

To learn more, visit Maine Coast Encaustic Retreat where you can apply online.