Cat Swartz hails from a small town on a tiny farm in Northeastern Ohio along Lake Erie in the US Midwest. Her works are an infusion of contemporary fantasy, realism, Appalachian rooted folklore, environmental conservation, self made lores and stories.
Cat is a Sculptor, Painter, Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Photographer, Doll Maker, Printmaker, Jewelry Designer, Writer, Chocolatier, International Art Curator, Art Consultant, and Interior Designer.
She grew up artistically inspired and influenced by the cadence of nature and all four seasons. Listening to nature breathe by learning the roots of Appalachian ways through her father and great aunt. Her mother and mother’s family taught her to be a strong expressive creative woman. Embracing, learning, and mastering creative skills with hard work, practice, patience, determination, and discipline.
Cat is formally trained in Graphic Communications and Printmaking has a background in science. Her informal training was primarily family and self taught since childhood, including traditional and digital illustration, painting, sculpting, photography, sewing, weaving, knitting, chocolate making, herbal work, among other disciplines.
She invokes subjects and designs creatures that are deeply rooted in symbolisms that oftentimes touch on darker subject matters about environmental conservation, speciesism, animal emotions and complexity, intimate emotional and physical suffering. Much of her work is inclusive of the human experience, yet excludes obvious anthropocentric themes. The mission of her work and imagery is to create a sense of wonder, enticing the viewer to preserve the world we live in for all species.