Last April Fool’s Day, Portland artist Hilary Pfeifer playfully tricked her social media followers with a fake New York Times article touting her talents. She apologized for the prank the following month, when she actually did get mentioned in the Times, this time for real.
The New York Times called out Pfeifer’s wooden mobiles, studded with repurposed colored pencils, that were on exhibit at All Street Gallery in Manhattan last year. Pfeifer had crafted the mobiles from furniture and musical instruments found in trash heaps.
“I really like using found materials because it’s a great way to teach that you can make art out of anything and that you don’t need to throw it away. It could have another life,” she says.
Hilary Pfeifer enjoys seeing people discover the cross sections of colored pencils subtly placed in her artwork. (Undated photo from unnamed location provided by the artist.)
Courtesy of Hilary Pfeifer
The Aha Moment
Pfeifer delights in the moment when someone recognizes a familiar object cleverly integrated into her art.
“I’m more interested when a found object is subtly placed, rather than overtly placed. I think it gives the viewer something to find and discover and also to talk about,” she says.
“I really love when I observe somebody being surprised or when a found object inclusion makes somebody look a little closer.”
Hilary Pfeifer uses wood pieces salvaged from other artisans to craft whimsical owls. (Undated photo in unspecified location provided by the artist.)
Courtesy of Hilary Pfeifer
Collected Over Decades
Pfeifer creates sculptures from scraps of wood donated by other artisans, who often send her pieces that are too small for them to use.
Hilary Pfeifer wants people to have an aha moment when they discover a found object in her wood sculptures. (Undated photo in unspecified location provided by the artist.)
Courtesy of Hilary Pfeifer
She knows where each scrap of wood in her sculptures comes from.
“I think it’s really symbolic of the way people, especially in more craft fields, share skills and knowledge and I feel like this work is really about community,” she says. Pfeifer finds a lot of her repurposed treasures from neighborhood walks, Goodwill and a creative reuse store called Scrap.
Her collection amassed over the decades includes wolf’s teeth, bicycle tire valves, bristles from street sweepers and plastic mesh vegetable bags.
“As an artist, you tend to collect materials because you just never know when you’re gonna use something,” she says.
Drawn to Birds
Pfeifer’s passion for birds takes flight in her Animalia series, where she explores the iconic form of birds through woodworking.
“I never get tired of exploring shape and posture. That is really inspiring to me,” she says.
Her creative process begins with sketching to study a bird’s main elements. She intentionally leaves her sketchbook behind when she heads to the studio, allowing the ideas from her drawings to intuitively influence her woodworking.
Hilary Pfeifer loves exploring the shape and posture of birds. (Undated photo in unspecified location provided by the artist.)
Courtesy of Hilary Pfeifer
“My art looks better when I don’t make exactly what I’ve drawn. But when I make the essence of what I’ve drawn.”
Her artwork is on view at the Art Gallery at the Reser until Dec. 23 and at her holiday studio sales on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 20 and 21.