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Cathy Leather is a California-based printmaker working primarily in drypoint, monotype, and photopolymer processes. Her practice merges traditional techniques with contemporary technology. With a background in emerging technology, pioneering computer media and visual arts teaching, she explores how digital tools can enrich the layered, tactile qualities of print. Her work often features original field recordings and animations accessible via QR codes, offering viewers a multisensory, immersive experience.

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Leather is inspired by environmental themes and wildlife habitat preservation, using her art to offer both hope and thoughtful critique. Her volunteer work with Audubon Canyon Ranch in Northern California—particularly participating in shorebird counts in Point Reyes and Tomales Bay—has deepened her understanding of avian habitats and conservation. She is often in the field with a sketchbook, pencils, Sony PCM audio recorder, camera, and identification scope, observing and documenting the landscape and its inhabitants.

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Curiosity about climate and conservation drives her research, travel, and subject matter. A recent trip to Antarctica furthered her long-standing fascination with the Arctic Tern, whose extraordinary migration inspired a print series tracing its hemispheric journey. She sees the Arctic Tern's migration as a metaphor for a moving, migrating world. Leather’s commitment to experiential learning informs her artmaking, grounding it in firsthand encounters with the natural world and inviting reflective, multisensory engagement with place.

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