Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Hu.
Catherine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I took art lessons as a child, I enjoyed them but never felt very attached or invested in any of the pieces. School got busy, and I didn’t think twice about dropping it. During my senior year in college, I was under a lot of pressure in engineering school, participating in student orgs and looking for jobs. The Society of Women Engineers held a social event where we painted together. As I was scrolling through my phone for inspiration, I saw the famous painting “The Scream” by Edvard Munch. The more I read about it, the more I identified with the screaming figure. I painted furiously for two hours, pouring all of my stress into it, and felt much better after. This is the painting that started it all.
I took a gap year after college and began making time regularly to practice painting. The subjects were whatever I felt excited about or could find a tutorial for on YouTube, including plants, animals, landscapes, and buildings. When I started my career in land management and ecological restoration, I needed to learn plants quickly, so I collected samples or took photos and painted them. I lived and worked at Shaw Nature Reserve for a few months as part of my Master’s degree in Environmental Conservation. After work, I would go on walks in the reserve and try to identify plants I didn’t know. I started with painting the most obvious features, such as flowers and leaves, but now I am working towards learning all the components of a plant’s life cycle including roots, seedlings, mature leaves and flowers, fruits, and seeds. I also want to further my understanding of plant and animal interactions, such as pollination and seed dispersal. At my current job as a land manager in Forest Park, supporting native plants and wildlife is the goal and they have also become the subjects of my current paintings.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I first started teaching myself watercolor as an adult, I was doing it for fun and stress relief. I gave away many practice paintings; many of them turned into birthday and holiday cards. Some friends suggested that I should sell my work and I finally did it this year! I wanted to get serious about learning plants by painting more consistently, and I thought posting on social media would hold me more accountable. I also thought it could be smart and fun to have another income stream based on something I already do regularly.
At the beginning, I faced many challenges including learning how to use social media for marketing (still learning…), scanning and editing physical artwork for printing, testing out different printing companies, setting up an Etsy shop, creating a website, pricing my work, designing logos and business cards, preparing for pop-up events, and on top of that, working a full-time physically demanding job. I’m still learning how to balance work, art, and resting. It has been difficult separating my art business from my personal life because it all happens in my living room, but I’m grateful for all the support from my family and friends and am looking forward to seeing where my art will take me!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have a unique perspective as an artist because I work closely with nearly every plant and animal I paint in my job as a land manager. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to see firsthand the intricate relationships between these organisms, such as queen bumblebees pollinating Dutchman’s breeches in early spring. Because I paint to learn, I am careful about taking or selecting reference photos that show important features of a plant that aid in identification. Watercolor is my primary medium but I will occasionally use gouache, acrylics, and colored pencils. My goal is to increase awareness and promote the use of native plants through art.
All of my work features native flora and fauna of the midwestern US. A native plant or animal is one that naturally occurs in a region without human introduction and has evolved with the area’s climate and geology over a long period of time. Native plants are especially important because they are at the base of the food chain, supporting native insects, many of which do not prefer or cannot use non-native plants as food or shelter. These insects in turn support small mammals, birds, and then larger animals. Without native plant diversity, other creatures cannot thrive.
Many of these native plants and animals are struggling now due to humans’ ability to transport living things quickly across the globe. Most landscaping around houses and businesses include non-native ornamental plants, some of which have become invasive, escaping into natural areas and crowding out the natives. At best, they have no ecological value in their current location. I don’t believe human preference should be more important than ecological health, and I hope my artwork inspires people to appreciate all the complexity and beauty in nature, even when there’s no obvious benefit to humans, and perhaps even start to rethink what they are planting in their outdoor spaces.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
You can support me by following me on social media (Instagram @sedgeshaveedges.art, Facebook groups/sedgeshaveedgesart), buying a print from my Etsy shop (sedgeshaveedgesart.etsy.com), or visiting my website (sedgeshaveedgesart.com). If you take photos of native plants or animals and would like to give me permission to paint from them, let me know! I’m always looking for good reference photos 🙂
Send me an email at sedgeshaveedges.art@gmail.com if you’d like to collaborate or have questions or ideas for paintings. I’d love to hear it!
Contact Info:
- Email: sedgeshaveedges.art@gmail.com
- Website: sedgeshaveedgesart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sedgeshaveedges.art/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sedgeshaveedgesart