CATHIE CRAWFORD

Prints

(309) 589 1034
cathierich@comcast.net

Bio Info

Cathie working in her studio on Sab pan yu woodcut.

Cathie Crawford was born and raised in New York City.  She returned to Peoria, Illinois in the fall of 2004 after living overseas with her husband (three years in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, then three years in Grenoble, France). A printmaker and art educator for almost forty years, she has concentrated on the woodcut and monotype since completing her Master of Fine Art degree in 1987 from Bradley University.

The reduction method of printing color woodcuts is best described by its name.  The printing matrix, a single block of wood, is “reduced” (cut away) in numerous stages to produce a multicolored print on paper requiring several “runs” through a printing press. The first color is sometimes printed from the whole block. Sometimes a minimal amount of wood is removed to designate the first color, which will actually be the color of the paper showing through. 

The size of the edition must be determined with the printing of the first color, as there is no possibility of reprinting due to the “reduction” of the block.  After the first color is printed, all ink is removed from the block.  All areas of the block, which are to remain this color in the finished image, are then cut away. The entire block is inked and printed in the second color depositing ink over the first color except in the newly cut areas.  This process of cutting and inking is repeated until the image is complete. 

Cathie also frequently uses mylar stencils to work reductively within a given shape within the image. Her printing matrix is one block of ¼” luan mahogany plywood. She prints on handmade Japanese rice paper with oil based relief inks. Using brayers or a litho roller to apply the ink to the wood, she frequently includes blended (rainbow) rolls of several colors. All Cathie’s work is archivally framed.

Since earning her Bachelor of Fine Art degree at The Ohio State University in 1971, her work has been included in more than two hundred and fifty exhibitions, forty juried national shows and ten international juried exhibitions. Maassalehma mes cheries was recently part of The Boston Printmakers’2009 North American Print Biennial at Boston University. It was also accepted into The 31st Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition in Peoria, Illinois and the Harlech Printmaking Open in Wales, UK.

Another woodcut, Monsieur Blanc n’est pas blanc, was accepted into NEW PRINTS 2007/Spring at the International Print Center in the Chelsea area of New York City and Works of Art on Paper at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences in Loveladies, New Jersey.  She has won over thirty awards at both the national and regional level.  Her woodcuts have been exhibited in eighteen states as well as France, Poland, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. 

Plane Magic was accepted for acquisition in The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Her prints are included in private and corporate collections in eight countries including: Bradley University, Illinois Central College, Lakeview Museum, United Way, Peoria County Courthouse, CILCO and Methodist Medical Center in Peoria, IL; The International Print Center New York, NY; Trenton State College, Trenton, NJ; Texas Instruments, Dallas TX; Bank of Boston, Boston, MA; The Safeya Binzagr Museum in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and HRH Abdullah Saud Mohammed, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to name a few. 

Today, Cathie is a full time artist. She is married to Rich McBride who shares her love for travel and scuba diving. She also enjoys gardening, especially her water garden and fish. Teaching water aerobics at The Clubs at River City keeps her in shape for making prints. She is active in five book clubs. Cathie frequently teaches printmaking and drawing workshops.  She loves to give slide lectures on printmaking to interested groups.

Favorite quote: “Art forms us / we form art!” 

Artist’s Statement

My work celebrates the magical moments of my life: Bliss of Being. 
Table Talk is an intimate view of my back porch.  Festina Lente (make haste slowly), Maassalehma mes cheries (goodbye my dears), Engage la Beauté, Monsieur Blanc n’est pas blanc and Resonant Reflections are close up views of my water gardens. Fenêtre sur les Trois Pucelles is the velux view from my studio window in Pariset, France.

Deeply enamored with the ever-changing hues of water, sky and land, I use color for its emotional impact. I have always been especially attracted to water, seeking it out for its restorative powers (Le bon vivant). 

Some woodcuts have been inspired by my travels. The thrill of seeing about 30 Orcas close to shore at sunset in the San Juan Islands is captured in Whale of a Sunset. A brief encounter with a Bedouin woman in Jordan who had facial tattoos was the impetus for Jamal Al Hickma (the beauty of wisdom). L’entrée began during an extraordinary moment in the Alcazar in Southern Spain. A trip to Thailand and an interest in Buddhism as well as contemporary Theology evolved into Sab pan yu.

Some woodcuts involve a close up view of an underwater world. Pool Play is an underwater view of children playing in a pool with an inner tube.  Healing Waters recalls scuba diving experiences.

Other images have an aerial perspective inspired by photographs taken while flying with my private pilot husband. Photographs taken while flying over the deserts of Nevada and Utah inspired Sel Sans L’eau.  Plane Magic is an aerial view of the San Francisco Bay Area.