Erika Scheer

Erika Scheer born 1976 in Chicago. She grew up with a wood carving heritage, and lived with the sights and sounds of a wood shop. Her father was a master woodcarver from Budapest Hungary with a family lineage. At an early age Erika showed interest in the arts and started drawing and playing with clay in her father’s shop. Her curiosity in the arts naturally gravitated to her father’s skilled trade. The medium of wood, surrounded her environment and conversations. As she progressed with drawing her father introduced various time periods and styles within the realm of ornamental wood carving. Her interests landed in the period of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and the American Arts and Crafts movement. With a strong intuition her father introduced her to artists that complemented her taste. He also encourage exploration in other forms of art. Throughout her teens she expected to attend art school, but found her heart was still in wood. Her decision to become an apprentice for her father was completely natural.. There she learned the handling of chisels, reading the direction of wood grain, and composition. Apprenticeship was very hands on with fundamentals and repetitive exercises. As a adult she was commissioned for various private homes around Southwest Florida. As she gained invaluable experience she grew into her own style. An evolution and melding of styles became her hallmark. Erika had a reptation for being tenacious and hard working. She was well aware she was stepping into a predominantly male world, but it did not deter her. Her passion for the medium and the adventure of the endless possibilities made those hurdles small. She then met her future husband John Feher in 1997. They married three years later. Then a decision was made to start a family of her own. She stepped away from her bench 2007 to raise her five children and be present in her children’s lives. Two major moves were part of their story. In 2010 they move to Ohio, then in 2018 to Wisconsin. They currently reside in Waupun Wisconsin. With her children at school age Erika found it was time to step behind the bench again. This time as a full time artist. Picking up where she left off, she steps into the roll of woodcarver with a fresh perspective.