A childhood spent trespassing through forests in the Midwest initially inspired Stacia Baldwin, the paper artist, printmaker, and illustrator behind Beastie and Bone, to dream of becoming a paleontologist, cowboy, or National Geographic photographer when she grew up. Chronic health issues soon pushed these dreams out of reach, however. So Stacia turned to art as a way of remaining close with the natural world she loved. She spent years replicating species she found most fascinating with markers, paper, and safety scissors. 

 

After studying illustration and design at a local community college, she relocated to New England, to achieve a certificate of illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Another relocation to Seattle, WA, followed. The diversity of species found in the alpine meadows, cliffy beaches, and thick woods of the Pacific Northwest turned the attention of her work to conservation, and the mixed-media art form she now calls “paper taxidermy” was born. Utilizing papers made of recycled cotton, mulberry, or bamboo, she develops dimensional skulls, flora, and insects akin to natural history illustration plates, and bone articulation and insect pinning: endangered and threatened species immortalized in a fragile, but renewable medium. 

 

Now located in Knoxville, TN, Stacia draws on the varied habitats she has encountered through the United States and a strong sense of curiosity for inspiration. She currently has two collections of paper taxidermy and linocut work in development, based on North American Megafauna, and the importance of protecting micro ecosystems.