Owner + Artist

Erica Nordfors Applewhite

I am Erica Applewhite, owner and designer of White Apple Studio. I like to say I both “go Small” and “go Big.” My block prints are small; most are the size of my hand or even smaller so I can literally “print by hand” in my (also) small studio. My murals are big (or at least much bigger!), ranging in size from 3 feet by 4 feet to 200 feet long. Murals allow me to paint with big brushes, lots of colorr, access grand spaces and ideas, and involve others- all things I love!

My printmaking career began in middle school when my artist mother (who was also my 8th grade art teacher) introduced the class to linoleum block prints. My first print of a sheep, my favorite animal at the time, was used for the school Christmas card that year. After studying etching, lithography and silkscreen in college, I virtually abandoned some of these more labor-intensive printmaking processes in my early adult years, favoring drawing and painting. Eventually I returned to printmaking with the discovery of a new type of carving block that allows the same kind of immediacy as painting- but in multiples! This soft, rubbery block material goes by different names such as "Safety-Kut" and "Easy-Cut" and allows me freedom to print a linoleum-type print without a press and with less risk of accidentally slicing my thumb while carving. This truly easy block material is what I use to create the block print work that you see on this site. Some of the inspiration for my block print imagery comes from the woods, water and landscape of my home in the Pacific Northwest. I am drawn to the work of landscape artists such as Emily Carr, the Canadian Group of Seven, and Bellingham's John Cole. Another source of my imagery is ordinary and/or quirky objects, animals, and food. I love the humor and simplicity found in such things as a pea pod, a duck's webbed foot, or a tomato. Finally, I also love to create visual records of any type of travel or adventure, whether it be a road trip, an expedition to the hardware store, an overnight kayak paddle, or a week-long excursion to build houses for the homeless in Mexico. White Apple Studio block print art has been featured at the Seattle Art Museum Shop; Bainbridge Arts and Crafts of Bainbridge Island, WA; the Bainbridge Island Studio Tour; the Wayzgoose Kitsap Arts Festival and other gift shops.

My mural career began in the mid-90s when a friend living and doing community development in south-central Los Angeles asked if I would be interested in designing and directing a 100ft exterior wall mural that the diverse and low-income neighborhood could rally around and even paint together. Thus was born my love for community-based mural projects. This first mural was a rain-forest theme (a play on that part of the city the locals called “the jungle”) and it brought out young and old, people of all backgrounds, home-owners, renters, business-owners and just folks walking by to pick up a brush and help paint. Subsequently, I have had opportunity to create many more permanent and temporary, solo and community-based, and interior and exterior murals in the Northwest. Locations and projects include: the Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle; Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle; Wilkes Elementary School, Bainbridge Island; Cross Sound Church, Bainbridge Island; Downtown Bremerton’s Dr. MLKing Way; Clean Water Kitsap’s Founders Pavilion at the Clear Creek Trail, Silverdale, WA; and the Hamlet of Keyport, WA.

My art teaching career started in a few classrooms of small private K-12 schools in the Los Angeles area and has evolved into leading workshops primarily for all ages and in many settings. I love to see children and adults get inspired as they discover their own creativity. Most of my recent workshops have been in block printing. However, I also enjoy teaching about painting, drawing, sketching, art journals, and yes, even murals! Venues for past workshops include Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Art After 60 program on Bainbridge Island, WA; Kitsap History Museum in Bremerton, WA; the Bremerton Art Guild, and the Port Ludlow Artists’ League in Port Ludlow, WA.