Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Claudia Hollister has always been immersed in extraordinary natural beauty. Her surroundings and love of gardening nurture her artful expressions, and provides constant inspiration for her art.

 

Claudia is a skilled artist with a diverse background in sculpting, porcelain design, and encaustic painting. Her extensive resume includes designing for prestigious companies such as Reed 7 Barton Silversmiths and Orrefors Crystal, as well as exhibiting her work at renowned institutions like the Smithsonian Museum of Art and Cartier Jewelers.

 

Claudia took a leap of faith, teaching herself to create hand-built colored inlaid porcelain vessels and teapots. Shortly after working through the learning curve, she was showing and selling them throughout the US. Her large-scale porcelain commissions have graced the walls of several children’s hospitals, corporations, and the Marriot Denver Tech Center.

 

In 2008, she decided to pursue her dream of learning to paint in encaustic. By 2012, Claudia started teaching encaustic painting at Pacific Northwest College of Art. During this time, intrigued with the process of printing images in the sun without harmful chemicals, Claudia started incorporating cyanotype prints into the backgrounds of her paintings.

 

Her painting practice changed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. She focused her interest on photographing flowers from her garden to create cyanotype prints. Claudia is now in her fourth year of this process, documenting the cycle of seasonal blooms that are constantly battling climate change. 

 

These images have a vintage modern feel while capturing a uniquely beautiful and mysterious look. The beauty of her cyanotypes is further enhanced by her selection of unique papers. Claudia’s process blends chemistry, nature, artistic license, technology, and pure timing.

 

Her cyanotype prints and collages have been shown throughout the US and Australia. Claudia works full-time in her Portland Oregon studio.