The Northwoods through Memory Born in Merrill, Wisconsin, in 1942, Thomas Martin Uttech developed an eye for the subtle shifts of light and shadow long before he ever picked up a brush. His early years in the American Midwest provided the foundational imagery that would later define his career: the dense pine and birch forests, the quiet lakes, and the movement of wildlife across the Precambrian Shield. After earning a BA from the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee in 1965 and an MFA from the University of Cincinnati in 1976, he transitioned from student to educator, serving as a professor of…