Claudia Hollister

Artist Statement

For all of us, life has changed since the isolation of COVID-19. The course of my art practice has changed too. During the lockdown, I turned to flowers from my garden and captured their beauty through photography. This exploration brought the calm and joy I feel when working and cultivating plantings-resulting in intimate images of lush floral prints. 

My process involves alchemy, nature, artistic license, technology, and timing. The current cyanotype prints continue to bring a new perspective as I expand my vision into creating a range in depth of color and compositions using my garden flowers. This is the fourth year documenting the cycle of seasonal blooms in a uniquely beautiful and sometimes mysterious format. 

Each year the new prints challenge me, giving me a gift of beauty and an element of surprise. The shades of blue and soft white make the images appear both contemporary and vintage, contrasting variations of light and dark. Each print is an individual piece of art kissed by the sun and marked by the inclusions within the unique lightweight Sekishu paper it’s printed on. This paper is strong enough to take the sensitizing solution and wash out once exposed to the sun. The magic begins as the positive image emerges before your eyes, producing a beautiful print with a lustrous sheen and silky finish.

Claudia Hollister | Portland, OR

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