Cathy Novak is a woman of contrasts. Her inspiration comes from the work of the pre-Raphaelites, the symbolists and other Victorian schools. She loves legends, myths, classical music and esoteric systems such as astrology and the Tarot. Yet she creates her art using the newest computer graphics software.

Her digital projects usually begin in the 3-D program Bryce, where she creates landscapes, interiors, lighting and even the weather conditions for her final rendering. She adds people and animals with Poser, then imports them into the Bryce scene. Next, she may use Painter to add plant life, redraw faces and add other details. Finally, she calls up PhotoShop for post-production tweaking, color correction and image copying into a variety of sizes and formats.

But it’s not the tools that create art. Cathy invents wonderful worlds that never existed except in her imagination. And while these worlds are often strange and exotic, they also reflect her joy, playfulness and sense of humor. She loves making art. She calls it, "the most joyful activity I can think of." She says, "It’s like being a happy child in a beautiful garden; there is no end to the delight." And when the work goes well, she feels "a part of something holy."

Although she admits that much of her work is on "Zip cartridges that teeter in precarious stacks around the house," more of her art is finding its way to professionally printed high gloss film media. Her major project (She calls it her magnum opus) is the creation of 78 individually designed Tarot cards. After two years, she is about halfway done. She is looking forward to the day when someone can shuffle her "paintings," lay them out and give a proper reading.

She produces other art, too. When feeling "traditional," she paints porcelain. "It’s very flowery, Victorian and relaxing" she says. She also calls on her knowledge of ceramics to fire her own colors. She also creates with acrylics, colored pencils and oil pastels. Back on the computer, she makes background textures, spot graphics and illustrations for her New Jersey friend’s literary e-zine, BEAN.

Cathy has always been an artist, In fact, she says she was one of those kids who get in trouble for doodling in the margins of their math books. She progressed from every girl’s favorite, drawing horses, to making candy money in junior high school by sketching Beatles portraits with a magic marker on the backs of sweatshirts for fifty cents.

In 1961, Cathy’s dad built a second home in the Santa Cruz Mountains, so she spent many weekends on "the hill," including Sundays at Skyland Church. In 1981, she married and moved to New Jersey. In 1991, she returned, sans husband, to her home in a rental cottage that her father built.

Cathy enjoys playing classical music, creating historical style clothing to wear at costume events, and gardening, or as she says, "attempting to produce fragrant flowers, herbs and veggies before critters lay waste to my efforts."

She enjoys the quiet and camaraderie of the mountain community. She feels it is a real privilege to see the circle of the seasons pass, wildflowers flourish and forest animals pass her kitchen window. For Cathy, the mountains nourish her, making art as effortless and life–sustaining as breathing.

The Mountain Art Guild has been a great boost. Not only are the Guild art shows a great incentive but Guild members are a continuing source of encouragement. She also says that she has a friend who has been instrumental in encouraging her to finish and show her work. Whoever you are, Cathy thanks you.

You can see her work on the web in the e-zine BEAN—Http://www.angelfire.com/zine/poetrybean.htm Or e-mail her at Animaitrix@aol.com