Cathy G. Vaughn is a full-time artist based in Richmond, Virginia. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design from the University of South Carolina and spent 25+ years working as a professional graphic designer. Alongside her work in graphic design, she honed her skills as a copper smith, and as a master craftsman has exhibited her work regionally since 2012. Continually exploring her medium and seeking to expand its aesthetic boundaries, Vaughn developed her own unique process by manipulating elements of nature with copper. Her first solo exhibit, Lasting Impressions, at Richmond's Science Museum of Virginia, featured a wide selection of her copper abstractions.

In March, 2017, three of Vaughn’s works were selected as best in category at the Art Scientifique exhibition in Fresno CA. In May of 2017, Vaughn did two simultaneous installations at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens as part of their “Wild Art: A Journey off Canvas.” The recipient of the Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s 2015 Award for the Innovative Use of Traditional Craft Materials, Cathy Vaughn was also selected for the Peninsula Fine Art Center’s 2015 Virginia Made show which featured 10 Virginia artists whose work crosses from craft to fine art.

Vaughn’s works are included in collections around the country, and accepts commissions for corporate and private installations.

Statement:

“Copper is my medium. I make abstract wall panels using live leaves and found materials to make images and patterns on copper. My images are made using traditional patina chemistry in combination with live leaves. The water, tannins, and natural compounds in the leaves react with the chemicals and the copper to etch the surface. As the patina develops, color renders on the surface, making an image.

When I am working with leaves and copper, I am beginning a conversation. At first, it is a conversation between me and a tree, or me and its leaves. What did the tree have to say? This leaf? These leaves together? How does its shape relate on a branch, and then on my canvas of copper?

When I gather leaves, I do so respectfully, only taking what I need. I thank the tree, an homage to indigenous ways, and then I work intuitively. Sometimes I make a portrait of a single leaf. Other times, I will render an imaginary landscape, a cross-section of above ground and below ground, or try to capture the motion of leaves or trees in nature.

Some single leaves are so magnificent, they beg to be unbound from two dimensions. Those are rendered, cut from copper and gently folded around wooden forms to echo their original shape: how they best catch wind and sunlight. Experimentation is second nature; pushing the boundaries of a medium is where the light comes in for me.”