Claudia Hollister

Image © Claudia Hollister

Artist Statement

Having worked in several different mediums over many years, I have developed knowledge and techniques that deeply influence my visual vocabulary and creative expression.

In the last ten years, I started utilizing cyanotype prints as wallpaper backgrounds to my still life encaustic paintings, as a way to frame or situate the dimensional vessel. The cyanotypes created unique backdrops for my work, unlike any other backgrounds.

During the COVID lockdown I was feeling restless painting, and turned to flowers from my garden, capturing their beauty through photography. This exploration brought the calm and joy I needed while working and cultivating plantings-resulting in intimate images of lush floral images. Though most of the first year prints were failures, what I learned was invaluable.

Today the basic steps in my studio to creating a print remain the same.
My process consists of alchemy, nature, technology, artistic license and timing. I photograph in my studio in natural light using my iPhone. From these images I create a negative, printed onto transparency film. The film is placed under glass, on paper I have coated and dried with UV sensitive solution, and set in the sun until developed. Dropping the exposed paper in water, watching the magic as the print oxidizes and the positive image appears.

The current cyanotype prints continue to bring a new perspective as I expand my vision and range through depth of color and compositions. Though the Prussian blue hues can't be duplicated in any other material, the shades of blue and white lend the images to feel vintage modern, contrasting variations of light and dark. I am in my forth year documenting the cycle of seasonal blooms, in this uniquely beautiful and sometimes mysterious format, that can be an unpredictable process.

Claudia Hollister | Portland, OR