Art, nature, & conservation of the natural world around us are three subjects I have been interested in for as long as I can remember. I was lucky to grow up in a home full of creativity and as much room and artistic license as we could muster, not too mention all kinds of art supplies. Over the years I had the opportunity to dabble in many different art techniques. While studying biology at UC Davis, it wasn’t until I took a relief printmaking class that I really found the art medium that captured my full attention - the medium demanded I slow down and think about each step, as once you carve away there is no going back.

The other parts of printmaking that I love is that you also have to think about the process in a different way–which in woodblock printing essentially means thinking backwards; I never knew what the image was going to look like until it was printed–the anticipation and excitement of what you are going to get is similar to waiting to open up presents at Christmas time; and I was constantly learning something new.

I use both reduction and multi-block techniques in my work and one day hope to expand that to include other printmaking techniques such as intaglio and lithography. Although for now I can't seem to tear myself away from the reduction technique.

With my prints I hope to peak your curiosity about the subjects you are viewing, which in turn might lead you to find out a bit more about the natural world than you knew before.

Laura Beach