Hilary Pfeifer is a sculptor whose work often engages with the natural world. She is especially interested in humanity’s attempt to control nature and the ways that nature adapts or asserts itself anyway. Pfeifer practices studio art, public works, as well as runs a business making custom wooden sculptures. Several of her public art projects were commissioned by hospitals, including ‘wishing trees’ for theRonald McDonald House in three different communities which feature animals native to those areas.
Her attendance at the Oregon College of Art and Craft was the catalyst for the way Pfeifer thinks about materials today. Her work relies on found or reused objects, often put together in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. “I use found objects in a really minimal and altered way,” Pfeifer said. “I want to engage the viewer to look and explore.”
A lifelong Oregonian, Pfeifer was born in Eugene and now lives in Portland. Her work engages with consequential themes about human’s place in nature, but is often brightly colored and seemingly playful. This presentation is helpful for engaging the public with these issues.“I want to talk about ecology with my work and about the importance of preserving natural spaces,” Pfeifer said.
She has a rotating collection of found objects, even without knowing how it will eventually come into play in her work. She might find these items on the street, at the beach, in the Goodwill bins, and everywhere in between. Thirty years ago, Pfeifer started noticing that street sweepers sometimes left broken steel bristles behind. “They go through a lot of wear and tear, brushing concrete all the time, and you find them in the gutters sometimes.” She began collecting them into jars without knowing what she’d do with them.
She began her recent project “godseye” after reading an article about how birds are using more human-made objects to build their nests. Instead of twigs and mosses, there might be plastic, old rope, and even anti-bird spikes—adapted to help species’ raise their young. “They’re adapting to our pollution,” Pfeifer said.
She began making a series of nests from found materials during a residency at Sou’Wester in Sea View, Washington. The steel bristles became an important structural component alongside other found materials like fabric scraps, wire, artificial plant parts, marine rope, and more.
The structure of all the nests—which she plans on making 150, will be featured in a 2026 exhibition at Maude Kerns Art Center in Eugene, OR—reminded Pfeifer of the old camp craft project of making woven “God’s Eyes” or “Ojo de Dios”. Recently Oregon Art Beat featured the project.
Pfeifer had a previous residency at The Ranch in 2022. She will be returning this year to work on her nest project—the subject of her upcoming workshop—as well as an ongoing project where she makes elaborate walking sticks covered with native flora and fauna. “I love that symbol of a walking stick,” Pfeifer said. It reminds her of hiking up mountains in her youth as well as walking through life generally. Like so much of Pfeifer’s work, the walking sticks bring nature and art together to change the way the viewer thinks about both.
There are two opportunities for visitors to engage with Pfeifer’s work during her residency:
Join Hilary Pfeifer on August 8, 2025 from 10-3pm for a one-day nest building workshop. Starting with a basic form, participants will learn how to build a foundation of wire and fiber and then attach natural materials and/or found ephemera to build a sculptural nest.
On August 28, 2025 from 4-6pm, Hilary Pfeifer will open her studio at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture alongside fellow residents Sylvia Friday and Jayne Struble. Open Studios are free public events showcasing work from the artists in residence. Guests will have the opportunity to step inside the artists’ workspaces, experience their in-progress projects firsthand, and engage in informal conversations about their evolving ideas. While free, space is limited and registration is required. Register here.
