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Hortus conclusus
Hortus conclusus: an enclosed garden shielded from the world of noise.
During the year of sheltering - in - place the herb garden in front of our house has turned into a small refuge. Under Californians desert skies I have tended to the varied plants for years. Due to the late spring rains the whole garden sprung into an unusual vibrancy of lavender blue, fiery orange, soft pinks and saturated shades of green. The Passionfruit vine had spread out over the rickety fence and bloomed the whole summer offering nutrition for bees, a playground for butterflies, a hiding place for finches and wrens and hummingbirds. It had turned the front yard into a sheltered, magical place. In this Hortus Conclusus I have spent hours to observe the natural world. Here I read and write and contemplate on creative ideas.
This most intimate landscape also provided me with the plants for a new series of cyanotypes called "Hortus Conclusus". When you study the blueprints closely you'll find the shadowy imprints of large leaved nasturtiums, the basket like euphorbia flowers, prickly thistles, the echiums flowery candles and the copper tips long spikes and ensiform leaves.
The cyanotype process is a photographic one that involves a light sensitive solution that I brush on sheets of heavy paper. Before the exposure to the ultraviolet beams of the sunlight I lay down a pre-selected group of plants and branches to capture their shadows. After exposure the paper has to be washed, dried and cured. Then I sift through the recorded image with pen and brush, and thus create divers horticultural prospects.
Christel Dillbohner
Berkeley, CA March 2021
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