Dear friends,
I hope you had a very happy Hannukah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa season.
As I write, I am on the tail end of a whirlwind year of art and weddings. I am so happy and so proud, I would like to share some of the highlights of my year with you.
- I had 3 successful Open Studio events in my studio at the artists’ coop on 915 Spring garden in Philadelphia where many of my pieces found new homes.
- One of my paintings, “Reflection,” was selected to be part of the Confluence: Water and Light juried exhibit at Kobalt Gallery in Provincetown, MA. during the 2012 Encaustic Conference. For this conference-sponsored exhibition, we were asked to submit work that related to the extraordinary light of Provincetown, a spit of sand that is surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay on one side and the great Atlantic on the other. The exhibit was juried by Francine D’Olimpio.
- Two of my paintings, “1974” and “Reflection Too,” were selected for the juried exhibit…An Art Journey From Argentina to Philadelphia, held on the Mayor’s floor in City Hall. The Exhibit was up during the month of November after a wonderful opening that included the Argentine ambassador, tango music and dancing, and featured select Argentine wines and hors oeuvres. The exhibition was housed in display cases along the second floor of City Hall, and was presented in partnership with the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy. Its opening was timed to coincide with the celebration of Argentine Week (Oct. 29 – Nov. 3) in Philadelphia. The works remained on display throughout the month of November.

- My artwork was exhibited at Bluestone Fine Art Gallery and Nichols Berg Gallery in Philadelphia.
One of my BIG Highlights of 2012 was going for my 2nd year to The International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown, MA. I was there for 8 days this year learning sooo much and reconnecting with some wonderful friends and fellow encaustic artists. The conference itself was 3 days long but I got there a few days early and stayed another 3 days to do workshops. The Conference is produced by Founder/Director Joanne Mattera with Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill and its Executive Director, Cherie Mittenthal.
Following are several photos from the 2012 conference. You can see some demonstrations by different artists, the Saturday morning panel, the vendor room, dinner at one of the restaurants, Kobalt Gallery, the postcard exhibit, and the view from my room.
In reference to my art career advancement, I took 5 workshops this year.
- In April I attended a wonderful workshop: Encaustic Monoprinting at R&F Handmade Paints in Kingston, NY taught by David A. Clark.


During the 6th Annual International Encaustic conference in May/June in Provincetown, I attended 4 workshops.
- Pigment Sticks, instructor: Lisa Presman
- Silkscreen with Encaustic, instructor: Jeff Hirst
- Bricolage, instructor: Nancy Natale
- Photo and Encaustic, instructor: Elena De La Ville
All my ink drawings and calendars are available on my Etsy store online.
And now…to my personal life…A very wonderful busy year full of Happy events. Our Big Highlight: ……..we had 2 weddings:
In April, my partner Heidi’s daughter Emily (my step daughter) got married to Jonathan Mills (so we now have 2 Jonathan’s in our family).
They had a beautiful wedding surrounded by family and friends. Emily & Jonathan live in Media, PA. with their French bulldog, Popcorn and 3 cats…Madeline, Jack and Cayenne.



And then In September I spent the most amazing week (because this was a week long affair)… in the most amazing place…in the company of wonderful friends and family…as my son Jonathan and his beautiful bride Jessica shared their wedding vows on a beautiful day in Fire Island, NY.
Jon & Jess live in Manhattan with their cat Noonies.




I would like to wish you the happiest, healthiest, and most peaceful New Years.
Sincerely,
Dora
Dora Ficher Art
- Website/blog: http://doraficherartblog.com/
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Dora,
Your work is so inspirational. I’d never heard of encaustic painting, and have recently watched several online videos of the process. I am seriously thinking of trying it out. I love the ability to texturize painting, giving it a new dimenson…Thanks!
What a year you’ve had! It was fun to read and to see all of the picture. Happy 2013 to you and Heidi!
Thanks for sharing your amazing year with us Dora. Are you still spinning? I am certainly looking forward to new adventures together in the near future. Thinking of you and Heidi and wishing you both every happiness throughout the coming year. May it be filled with peace, love, creativity, and good health. Besos, Diana
Thanks Carol! Come on over to my studio one of these days. I do give classes on beginning encaustic. Happy New Year!!!
Thank you Alyson! It was quite the year…wonderful in many ways! Happy 2013 to you and Rob! <3
Hola Diana, thank you for visiting my blog! Let’s get together soon! Wishing you a very Healthy and Happy 2013….also filled with Peace, love & lots of creativity. Un abrazo! <3
Zowie! Congrats! What a fun and fabulous year for you. With a lot of good accomplishments. Hurrah!
Liza,
Thank you!
Happy and Healthy 2013 to you!
Congrats on all sorts of wonderful fantastical things personally and professionally. Be still my heart I have always wanted to take a workshop up at R & F and will put that as one of my goals. I also thinking putting the conference in Provincetown is another worthy goal, so thanks for sharing Dora… and one of my goals for 2013 is to meet you in person! Lets pick a date.
Thank you Nancy! Great to hear from you!