Upon graduating this fall, Hanna Hamstra will have received a B.A. in Art. She grew up in in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia but her family eventually moved down to Valdosta, Georgia. She stayed in Valdosta to attend college at Valdosta State University. Some of her beginning works were influenced by South Georgia and the agricultural scenes she saw daily. Her film photography captured this and gave the photos an old rustic feel. Her work continues to be influenced by her experiences. Hanna has continued to discover herself in college, and the emotions she felt helped create her Stained Series of Cyanotype photography prints. She was influenced by feminism and her experiences as a women. Women are strong and beautiful creatures and they need to embrace that. That’s what she focuses on and continues to push her work in new ways. Hanna’s works focus on oil paintings and photography. Until college she only liked pencil drawing, but she is glad to have discovered these mediums and feel it has helped her work grow along with her.
Everything I encounter in my daily life can be a source of inspiration. My life experiences are a reoccurring theme in my art. The works I create come from experimentation. I love trying new ideas and pushing my works further. I find joy in working with my hands.
I strictly work with film for my photography. It is always exciting to see the outcome of my photos when I develop them. Working in the darkroom is a very calming work method for myself. I get lost for hours tweaking and editing a photograph. Creating a photograph that, in a sense is made by hand feels utterly satisfying.
My skills as an artist excel in photography and painting. When I am working on a painting it is very hard to resist using my fingers as a tool. It gives me more control. For me, working unconventionally or going back to the basics is utterly satisfying.