Raised on a farm in eastern North Dakota, Eric’s interest in drawing developed early, often spending hours drawing designs for cars, detailed space battles, caricatures, and imagined portraits.

He graduated from Chaffee High School in 1991 with a class of eight students. After taking his first-ever art class with Wayne Tollefson at NDSU, Eric changed his major from psychology to art. He received his B.S. degree from North Dakota State University in 1997, and his Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of North Dakota in 2001.

With Printmaking and in particularly with the reduction process of relief; he has found his forte, carving layered tapestries of interwoven lines that manifest as expressive trees and swaying buildings glowing & vibrating in their brilliantly hued fantasy landscapes.

During the last seven years, Eric has worked tirelessly on his prints and exhibited his artwork both regionally and nationally. He has kept a studio at the excellent P.E.A.R.S. (printmaking education and research studio) at North Dakota State University frequently since 1999. In 2005 Eric became an intern with P.E.A.R.S. where he continues to do his printmaking and assists the Master Printer, Kent Kapplinger with the studio, classes, and shop duties.

Artist Statement

While growing up on a farm in rural North Dakota, some people had expected me to join the farming community. As I grew older I realized that farming didn't suit me for a career. I wanted the independence and freedom of farming, but also needed an output for my creativity.

Art making wasn’t really even a thought for me until I took my first few art classes. It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was what I was meant to do. The creative process has become a way for me to work through issues and turn them into something visually interesting. I use both the city and the tree to represent the anxiety, as well as other emotions associated with life changes and events common to everyone, such as birth, death, relationships, and disease.

When I am printing I often spend hours at a time thinking about life, listening to music, and pondering reality.