Catherine Eaton Skinner

Catherine Eaton Skinner (born 1946) is a multimedia artist with studios in Seattle, Washington and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Early life and education

Catherine Eaton Skinner (Catherine Gene Walker) was raised in the Pacific Northwest. She received her BA in Biology from Stanford University while simultaneously studying painting with Bay Area Figurative painters Nathan Oliveira and Frank Lobdell. Her professional career of over 50 years began as a biological illustrator, specializing for 20 years in the ecological integration of marine invertebrates and algae of the Pacific Coast. Skinner presently works between studios in Seattle and Santa Fe as a interdisciplinary artist using methods of painting, encaustic, photography, printmaking, book making, and sculpture using cast glass and bronze.

Art Skinner's work is centered on the balance of the five elements - earth, fire, water, air, and space, as well as methods of numerical systems and patterning used to construct an order to our world. Gravitating towards mark-making methods that have been used by peoples and animals to indicate presence in place and construct a deeper relationship with nature, she moves from the simplicity of tantric forms to the complexities of grids, encompassing repetition and multiplicity. Skinner’s poetry has often been published with her work in exhibitions and press.

Skinner states, “Recognizing the importance of the polar energies in our lives is paramount to our survival within our delicate ecosystem. Each of my works becomes an offering to new possibilities; a modern mandala born out of ancient tradition.”