about me
Hi! My name is Natalie and thanks for visiting me! Lotus Printworks is my small shop…and by shop I mean small corner of the sunroom with a desk and a drying rack. I was born and raised in California, and currently create my art out of my home in San Diego, CA. As a climber, hiker, canyoneer-er, and conservationist, my work is heavily inspired by the natural world. I graduated from UC Davis as a conservation biology major, so I love being able to represent wildlife in an artistic way. Bird lovers, you will find joy here as a lot of my inspiration comes from our feathered friends. My goal here is to create art that highlights the beauty of the natural world and inspires wonder and maybe even curiosity in it too. To me, there’s no greater feeling than inspiring someone to get outside, get curious, and take action to protect our wild lands. The name Lotus Printworks comes from my Chinese heritage. My parents always told me that my middle name, Mei-lan, means “beautiful lotus”. Now whether that’s totally true or not I’m not sure, but it always stuck with me as a reminder of family and a symbol of growth.
about my art
The art of block printing originated in China over 4,000 years ago. Today, the exact methods have been adapted and changed through time and many different cultures. You may have heard of Japanese woodblock printing, which falls under this umbrella of printmaking and is a style that I love to get inspiration from. The method that I use is specifically called “relief printing” where I hand carve linoleum blocks, roll them with oil-based inks, and press them onto hand-torn archival paper. My first ever print I made in my middle school elective art class was a self-portrait that I got 100% on. Years later, while looking for a new creative hobby, I stumbled upon printmaking. Bolstered by my successful middle school printing experience, I decided to give it a go and fell in love with it.
I love printmaking because the process is slow and intentional; from the sketching process on paper, to watercoloring to plan colors, to carving into linoleum, and finally printing. Carving away reveals shapes in a way that no other medium can, and layering colors makes for a certain depth in the final print.
If you’re curious about the process of block printing head over to my Instagram (linked at the bottom), which has some of my process videos!
