ARTIST STATEMENT
Mother Earth, I have always been especially attracted to your water, seeking it out for its restorative powers. Water, the powerful life-giving force, is my source of replenishment, rejuvenation, and renewed energy. Thank you, Dear Earth for your water. Water theme images have been a constant source of inspiration throughout my printmaking career.
My art does not tend to be political but I have seen the bleaching of the coral reefs as a scuba diver. I have witnessed the disappearance of the beautiful glacier, La Mer de Glace in Chamonix, France between my first visit in 1977 and my last visit in 2004. I am very worried about climate change and the impact of fossil fuels on the environment. The warming of our oceans will have a negative impact on the wildlife residing in and around them. Ultimately, it will have a negative impact on all of us as well as future generations. I have been thinking a lot about Climate Change and our responsibility to the life of our planet this past year.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Originally from New York City, Cathie Crawford lived overseas six years in Saudi Arabia and France. She returned to Peoria in 2004 from Grenoble, France. She has concentrated on the color reduction woodcut since earning an MFA degree in 1987 from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois where she had a one-person retrospective in December of 2016.
Her work has been included in more than three hundred exhibitions, thirty solo exhibitions, ninety juried national shows and eighteen international juried exhibitions since completing a BFA from The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio. Crawford has received forty-seven awards at both the national and regional level, four this year. Her woodcuts have been exhibited in twenty-nine states as well as Bulgaria, France, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. Crawford’s prints are included in private and corporate collections in eight countries including the International Print Center New York in New York City; The American University Museum in Washington DC; The Safeya Binzagr Darat in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Newark Public Library, Newark, New Jersey and the Peoria Riverfront Museum in Peoria, Illinois.