"I start with a definite idea of what I want to create but the wood has its own opinion. It takes my tendency for meticulous detail, chuckles, then pushes the work in a different direction."

Millie Whipplesmith Plank starts a wood cut with a clear idea of what she want to convey. The medium however, takes her tendency for meticulous detail, chuckles, and pushes the work in a different direction. Forced to simplify and refine the message, her work gains the quality and power which is unique to wood cut printing.

In a hundred year old barn which shelters her studio, she has created a printmaking oasis, surrounded by animals and open spaces. Her work, influenced by her cattle ranching heritage, explores biodiversity and species interdependency. Combining the rich colors, and simple shapes of traditional woodblock prints with expressive line, she beckons the viewer to explore a different reality.

Whipplesmith Plank’s work is in the permanent collections of the Leigh Yawkey Museum in Wisconsin and the Maryhill Museum of  Art in Washington.  She is part of the California Printmakers Association, the Society of Animal Artists, Artists for Conservation, and has served as artist in residence at Glacier National Park and Lassen Volcanic National Park.