telling stories of the natural world through woodblock printmaking
I make limited-edition woodcuts using vegetable oil-based inks. Each print is hand-made and unique. Imperfections are expected and part of what makes each piece special. A print will touch my hands many times before being finished.
the invisibility series
People care more about problems they can see.
"The Effects of Teflon Culture I and II" 14 x 18" Woodcuts. When farms use municipal sludge as fertilizer they contaminate the soils and water with chemicals, which is what happened at Songbird Farm before the current farmers even moved there. But regardless of who put it there, the farmers had to shut down after finding PFAS in the soil, water, and plants they were growing. The chemical structure of PFAS is seen in every part of the print, from the clouds to the lettuce leaves to the soil and groundwater.
"Pestiside Effect I and II" 14 x 18" woodcuts. "Pestiside Effects" depicts the story of DDT and the fight Rachel Carson took on in the 1960s to make the popular pesticide become a visible threat to the general public through her book “Silent Spring.” It was difficult to believe that modern agriculture could be causing such an intense and complex ecological crisis, but her writing was so powerful that it led to sweeping changes in US environmental policy and a major ecological rebound.
"Maple" 6 x 12" woodcut + linocut. Sugar maple trees are an important symbol of New England, not only for their historic and ecological functions and sheer beauty, but also for their ability to provide us with the best sweetener on the planet. To harvest maple sap, you wait until the temperatures are low at night and then swing much warmer during the day, which makes the sap flow. Global rising temperatures will change when and how much sap can be collected.
hi, I’m sarah.
she/her
I am a printmaker, gardener, and environmentalist. I create my block prints in the woods of New Hampshire to tell nature’s stories. Stories from my own backyard, like the slow creep of the hemlock woolly adelgid, to such global hotspots as the coral reefs. But mostly I stick to my own backyard, because that is where I first discovered my deep passion for the natural world — that passion that has driven my career and now motivates me to make.
A former environmental educator with a masters’ degree in ecological design, I have always been intrigued by the connection between humans and the natural world. As I have grown, so too has my aspiration to inspire people to become as invested in protecting the natural world as I am. And from my woodcut studio, I strive to do just that, from telling stories with each print, to creating hand-crafted reusable goods with minimal waste to help lower our environmental impact, to giving a percentage of sales to hard-working conservation/community organizations.
tell stories, lower the impact, give back
When I’m not carving away, my favorite activities involve getting my hands dirty in the garden, hiking new and old trails, exploring the rocky seacoast, and cooking and eating local food.
I share my art and stories on social media so if you’d like to hear more, follow along! If you have questions, feel free to contact me.
Upcoming
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From the Field: Multi-Block Woodcut Printmaking
Snow Farm, New England Craft Program
Williamsburg, MA
June 11-15, 2025
Explore the environs of Snow Farm, discover a personal connection to the landscape, and learn how to transform your observations and insights into a multi block woodcut. Walk, observe, ask questions, and practice sketching outdoors before retreating to the studio. Students will then learn composition, carving, ink mixing, registration and hand-printing techniques. Students will each print a small edition of their unique woodcut, all inspired by our experiences observing the flora and fauna of the Snow Farm landscape. There is no supply fee; a $85 kit fee is payable to the instructor at the beginning of class. All levels welcome.
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Observation-Based Botanical Block Printing
Sanborn Mills Farm
Loudon, NH
July 12-13, 2025
We will start by exploring the Sanborn Mills Farm ecosystem, walking the fields and finding plant or fungal species that interest us. Participants will each choose a species to focus on, and we’ll spend some time observing through sketch and then learning more about the individual species. We will then learn how to make block prints, planning, prepping, sketching, and then carving linoleum blocks. Then we’ll practice inking and hand-printing techniques, and participants will experiment with these and then create their own small edition of linocuts, using nontoxic, vegetable oil-based inks.
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League of NH 92nd Annual Craftsmen Fair
Mt Sunapee Resort
Newbury, NH
August 2-10, 2025
The Annual Craftsmen’s Fair began in 1933 and runs for nine days each year, featuring the juried work of hundreds of members with sales booths, interactive demonstrations, and curated exhibitions attracting over 20,000 visitors annually. This video from 2021 captures the essence of the Fair, and provides a sense of the wide range of creative experiences you can expect to find each year.
thank you to these shops for carrying my work
Supporting local community and environment is not only a guideline for subject matter but also technique. I use nontoxic methods of printmaking, like vegetable oil-based inks that wash out with biodegradable soap and water. I purchase material from locally owned businesses whenever possible, and use compostable plastic sleeves and recyclable cardboard to transport my work.
process
Every block print starts with a sketch. I transfer the sketch (in reverse) to a block of either wood or linoleum, and carve it out using carving tools. Once the block is carved, I roll on a layer of ink, lay the paper on top and run it all through my press. If the print will be needing additional colors, I either carve more of the block before adding a separate color, or carve a new block for each additional color.
Every print that comes from my studio is hand-printed using these traditional block printing techniques.
