February 10, 2016 | By Billie Paulus ’16

Catie Beach ’16 is exhibiting her artwork through Feb. 20 at Ohio Wesleyan’s Werner Student Art Gallery. (Photo by Billie Paulus ’16)

An Artist Finds ‘Solace’

Ohio Wesleyan’s Catie Beach ’16 Unveils Her First Solo Exhibition

“As an artist, my time here at OWU has been really constructive,” says Catie Beach ’16. “Learning from an interdisciplinary approach, from friends, from on-campus involvement, I’m able to cope with the things of the world in my art and hope to connect my passion for activism with my love of art.”

Beach, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in painting and printmaking, opened her first solo show recently at the Werner Student Art Gallery inside Edgar Hall. The collection is called “Solace,” and as her artist’s statement explains, “Through art-making I seek remembrance in the capture of a facial pause, discovered patterns within nature, and the beauty of decay.”

Beach’s passion for activism is evident in each of the works, which will remain on display until Feb. 20. “I am interested in the darker sides of nature,” the Columbus, Ohio, resident says. “We’re human, and we’re such a creative species that we’re creating things that are even too much for this earth to sustain.”

A lot of the images are Beach’s creative interpretation of small moments of life. She collaborated with OWU faculty members David Johnson and Nancy Murray of Department of Botany and Microbiology and worked alongside OWU students participating in the Summer Science Research Program. “The botany illustrations were challenging, because they’re technical.” The illustrations will be published in a field guide compiled by the professors.

Beach’s opening was generously attended, creating an experience she will never forget. “I didn’t realize how vulnerable I felt putting all my work out. A lot of these works were learning pieces for me, so I was never thinking that someone would see this or want to buy this,” she says. “They’re all really personal because I learned a lot of things through them and experimented with them.”

For Beach, “Solace” was more about celebrating her success as an artist here at Ohio Wesleyan and a capstone of her talent and learning up to this point in her life.

She began taking art classes at a young age, thanks to the encouragement of her kindergarten teacher and her parents enrolling her in drawing classes.

“I didn’t really want to be an artist growing up,” Beach says. “I thought it was impractical. But I started drawing for three hours a day, and it brought my observational skills and drafting skills up to the level I needed to pursue a degree in art.”

When her college search began, Beach found Ohio Wesleyan and fell in love with it. “When I came here, I recognized that I could have a place somewhere between the rigor of fine arts and the benefits of a liberal arts education.”

Beach says her campus involvement has had a huge impact on her art. A member of the Sexual and Gender Equality (SAGE) House, one of OWU’s small living units, Beach orchestrated OWU’s 2014 mural project through her involvement with the Student Led Art Movement (SLAM) group.

“We invited all the clubs to participate in the mural project. I really wanted a project where people were making art together, even people who didn’t consider themselves as artists,” Beach says. “The people who painted for hours were the people who told me they weren’t artists!”

After graduation, Beach plans to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking. “But first, I want to give myself time to figure out how to incorporate art into my daily life.”

She also hopes to get involved in the Columbus art scene, which she says “has a grassroots movement bubbling up that I hope to put my hand in.”

“I believe that art can solve problems,” Beach says, and she continues to experiment with the intersection between activism and art in the greater world.

“I think my work is empowering,” Beach says, looking around the gallery. “I think it speaks to how putting dedication, time, and heart into something can make it more successful than I thought possible.”