Laurie Ferguson Craig

Laurie Ferguson Craig regards herself as a very fortunate artist: she has found her perfect medium. Etching is an historic printmaking technique that requires the artist to create the design on a metal plate. The completed plate is inked by hand and each etching printed individually on an etching press.

"Etching allows me to capture delicate detail on a bird's feather or a caribou's check as well as large scale features, such as the flood of sunlight on a snowy mountain peak," says Craig. "Intaglio etching provides distinct and sensitive lines, while the brush strokes of aquatint techniques give gentle graduations of form and light."

Craig is known for her long, narrow prints featuring several birds or animals. She enjoys using that format to focus attention on a species through depicting several individuals. An important point she makes is to be sure at least one creature looks directly at the viewer. She believes that being accepted by the animals is a true gift of special contact, and she tries to convey that acceptance to others.

A dedicated environmentalist, Laurie uses her artistic abilities to bring attention to issues of significance. "It's difficult to draw creatures and not be concerned about the health of the surrounding areas that sustain them," she adds. "The abundance of wildlife in Alaska becomes more unique in view of the habitat loss in other places. For me to simply draw pictures of what I care about is not enough.