The Oculus Press

The Oculus Press My work in color etching & aquatint inspires responsible land stewardship. I wrote Ragged Mountain Revelry. I am a tenured NH public school teacher. You are.

My work in color etching & aquatint is in the collections of the White House, Smithsonian Institution, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Springfield Art Museum, NH Arts Council, NH Historical Society & thousands of private collections. My MFA is in Printmaking & my BS in Art Ed. My curriculum is College Board approved for AP credit. I direct an enrichment program, Experiencing the Arts: A fully integrated

enrichment program focusing on six areas of the Arts: Theater, Media Arts, Visual Arts, Dance, Music, and Writing/Poetry. Connecting students and artists from the NH State Council's Artists Roster, The League of NH Craftsmen, and from the four corners of the world. The program has succeeded in far exceeding its initial benefit as a class bringing programs to the entire school and broader community as well as sponsoring dozens of field trips to arts events. "Teachers across the disciplines see a greater need for Arts activities to stimulate learning in their classes. They are excited to stimulate learning by bringing the arts into their curriculum. Teachers do not work in a vacuum and learning does not just take place in the formal classroom. In order to continue to raise the bar and meet goals, teachers need the continued investment of their students. They must be excited about learning. With Experiencing the Arts we have seen firsthand that student learning is energized by enrichment experiences. Students find the classroom work more meaningful and useful when skills have been brought to life, so to speak, by arts experiences." The Voice of New Hampshire
By Christopher Hill Morse


Speaking as the voice of the public lands and landmarks of New Hampshire, I feel very proud. There is so much of this state that is set aside for everybody now and for future generations. Beautiful mountains juxtaposed near huge lakes so clean and clear that you can drink their waters. Architecture, which communicates the sincerity of out forefathers reminds us of the pride and care with which we must approach the future. Granite rising magically by the efforts of spirit now blended into a much larger effort and purpose; to represent the spirit and verve necessary to be counted among those called New Hampshire residents. And of our other residents, the deer in the woods and the trout in the streams, I feel confident seeing the care and resolution that has been taken to embrace their existence with empathy and reverence. I feel confident our caretakers, the people of New Hampshire, will accept any necessary steps and effort from the depth of their love for the riches set before them. It is easy to believe having seen the sublime light their eyes with the majestic views of our mountains and from the peace filling the heart of a lone fisherman on the foggy early morning lake with a calling loon and the mist lighting coolly, silently. The hikers labored and pained by our pesky mosquitoes, blisters, and the hard work of climbing to their goal find it remarkable that so much of our day to day life goes forgotten, yet, an encounter with our public lands, years later, is a clear memory. The smells of a scrub spruce, a certain bird call, and these places rush back to mind. A clear memory, the temperature of the air, the feeling of the wind, a feeling of the sun or of the wet boots and slippery socks. The depth of the impression allows me to feel confident that not only am I protected and safe, which would be a hollow antiseptic safety, but that I am loved and shared. I am everybody’s family heirloom, with stories that form a web of private legend so strong that I am blanketed with provenance. People frightened by the implication of current environmental trends are reborn with purpose when they come back to see our wilderness and we share our private state of the State. New Hampshire residents know in their quiet individualistic way what is worth protecting, preserving, and embracing. They each will have an influence culminating into a strength no single individual could represent. Speaking as an artist that believes in the future, I am resolved that it will be through the love and appreciation of our public lands and landmarks that we will do more than is needed to merely protect and preserve. I believe that there is a great power here in the experiences we have shared for this state. I believe each individual has the opportunity to show an influence with greater significance than is represented by one’s own name, one’s physical body, or lifetime achievements. It is this significance that is represented by the beauty we now have at hand. Together, share the role of caretaker. I am not the voice of the public lands and landmarks of our great state.

Silkscreen artist William Mitchell with my new etching "Bucket List." We collect each other's work!
08/18/2026

Silkscreen artist William Mitchell with my new etching "Bucket List." We collect each other's work!

Sunapee is going pretty well. Yesterday, mother nature pretty much shut the fair with a deluge. One of the highlights of...
08/04/2026

Sunapee is going pretty well. Yesterday, mother nature pretty much shut the fair with a deluge. One of the highlights of the day before the storm - I had a visit from some skiing pals from the Ragged Leader Board! Thanks to Thanh Thai for the photos. In other news, there is a chance the Northern New England Museum of Contemporary Art (NNEMoCA) adds two of my pieces to their collection... Keep your fingers crossed, it has been a while since I added a line to the resume... That would be cool! I have enjoyed getting to know my Craftsmen's Fair neighbors. I hope we have a good show. Come see why the League's fair is often listed as one of the top ten shows in the nation! It is NH's crown jewel!

8/1/2026 Opening day at Sunapee. It went pretty well. Good crowd, weather was lovely, Saw customers going back to the 80...
08/02/2026

8/1/2026 Opening day at Sunapee. It went pretty well. Good crowd, weather was lovely, Saw customers going back to the 80's! Family helped me out. Barrett got my first sale and Sooze learmed how to run creddit cards and helped with closing. We had some sales. Thank you! Looking forward to eight more days! I hope to see you there!

I have hung my booth at the 93rd annual League of NH Craftsmen's Fair. My 37th Craftsman's Fair. I hope it is a good one...
07/30/2026

I have hung my booth at the 93rd annual League of NH Craftsmen's Fair. My 37th Craftsman's Fair. I hope it is a good one! See you there, August 1 - 9, tent 6, booth 611.

2026 - 93rd Annual Craftsmen's FairChristopher Hill  MorseThe Oculus Press, Tent 6, Booth 611Mount Sunapee Resort1398 Ro...
07/16/2026

2026 - 93rd Annual Craftsmen's Fair
Christopher Hill Morse
The Oculus Press, Tent 6, Booth 611
Mount Sunapee Resort
1398 Route 103, Newbury, NH
Saturday, August 1 - Sunday, August 9,
10 AM - 5 PM - ALL 9 Days!

06/13/2026
"Bucket List." I'm getting the color where I like it. I'll offer it in black and white too.
06/13/2026

"Bucket List." I'm getting the color where I like it. I'll offer it in black and white too.

Ragged Mountain Revelry, EpilogueChristopher Hill Morse, 2000Twice this past summer my daughter Kendra and I camped in M...
06/01/2026

Ragged Mountain Revelry, Epilogue
Christopher Hill Morse, 2000

Twice this past summer my daughter Kendra and I camped in Mompey Pastures. We heard the chirping of the crickets. We heard a coyote far away howling at the moon. At our second camp out, we surprised some deer planning on sleeping there and heard the snort of a buck warning the other deer that there were people in their pastures.

Kendra is five years old. I hope that this story can keep her interested in learning about nature. I hope that she enjoys the fascinating variety of life. It takes vision to protect the environment.

To find out whether there was anything really extraordinary about Yellowstone, Congress sent two artists, William Henry Jackson, a photographer, and Thomas Moran, a painter, to explore the area and make a visual report. Their powerful art convinced Congress that Yellowstone should be preserved for all future generations to share. I hope my Ragged Mountain story can also serve as inspiration for others.

Protecting the land on Ragged Mountain involved many people and properties. Yellowstone, however, was designated protected land in a day when our forebears could extend the boundaries of our public lands as far as they wanted. The people who laid out Yellowstone simply drove a stake in the ground and rode for miles in one direction. When it seemed far enough, they drove another stake in the ground, and turned in a new direction. By the time they had gone all the way around, they had designated over a million acres as America’s first national park. It will never be that easy again.

A thousand times while I have been demonstrating at art shows Kendra has heard me say that by exploring the lands of our forebears, we gain valuable objectivity by getting some distance from the circumstances of our daily routine. With this objectivity, we can weather any type of personal storm.

Wilderness can open up our senses. Much of our daily life goes unexamined, yet in time our connection to the wilderness lets us discover more about our own nature, and creates memory. With just the scent of a spruce tree or the song of a white throated sparrow, the memory of these places rushes back to mind.

The wilderness is everybody’s family heirloom. By being in touch with all those places left in our care, we will have a better idea of how to care for them and this focus may help us find the energy needed to preserve additional important habitat.
All of us are caretakers of our world. What we can learn about those things left in our care will help us have a positive influence on the future. It is important to realize the vitality in the variety of life. We are part of a thriving planet. This is the perspective I offer to my children. I am happy to share it with you.

Industry
05/28/2026

Industry

I proofed my newest etching "Industry," in color today, May 28, 2026. Planning on having it for the League of New Hampsh...
05/28/2026

I proofed my newest etching "Industry," in color today, May 28, 2026. Planning on having it for the League of New Hampshire Craftsman's Fair. August 1st through August 9th, tent 6, booth 611.

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