About Christa Norman
I am a fine artist living in Orange County, California with my husband, garden and home studio. I specialize in a camera-less contact photography called cyanotype known for it's elegant simplicity.
In my practice I've discovered how similar the soul is to a piece of paper. How it can sometimes feel like a flattened tree but just like a piece of paper can become a photograph, our souls can be made sensitive to light and carry so much beauty.
And this is the reason why I am an artist, to invite others to slow down and savor the beautiful. And in turn be transformed by that beauty.
My Journey
Have you noticed how life often has a way of flattening us? For some it's the pace of life more fit for a machine than a human. For others it is a soul-sucking job. For me it was an abusive childhood. I had an imaginative and creative heart but I didn't grow up in a space where it was safe to be sensitive or safe to simply be at all.
As a teenager, I was finally able to choose to remove myself from this situation. And within a year of leaving abuse, I found photography and it awaken a spark in me. I knew right away it was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
I went to university and got a degree in fine art photography. After graduation and getting married, I started a wedding photography business with the intention of returning to a fine art practice one day.
After five years of wedding photography, a sabbatical and living in Japan, I craved something slower and more thoughtful. I realized that "one day" arrived sooner that I thought. And three months into our year abroad in Japan, I closed my wedding photography business and opened my fine art studio.
My practice has been a very healing one for me. Each Cyanotype invites me to slow down, savor the beautiful, and come alive again.
The Cyanotype Process
The process begins by coating a piece of watercolor paper with a light-sensitive solution. I then arrange flowers and leaves on top of the paper and take it outside into direct sunlight.
After a few minutes the paper turns blue but where the flowers were remains white. The paper is then washed and dried and the blue deepens into a lovely deep indigo.
If you want to learn more about the process and the history of this medium click here!
