About the Instructor
Erin Patton McFarren creates art from her studio in Fort Wayne, Indiana and along the rivers of her city and waterways she discovers while traveling. The ever changing sun, wind and water play to create a spontaneous moment on paper. Her work is a collaboration with nature, gently marking time and record of a place. The images in calm blues are paintings created with sunlight and water. A cyanotype is created by non-toxic chemicals that produce a deep blue when exposed to light. It is a simple form of photography using the original formula from 1846. Her creative practice is grounded in meditation, involving constant exploration, process and experimentation.

The work created is immediate, capturing the ever changing sunlight as it interacts with water and wind. Currents in the river, lakes and water create their own expression of shape in the natural light. What begins as a simple form of photography becomes ephemeral in print. Each original piece is noted with the location and date. Color variations appear from the components in the water and light of the season to produce a variety of hues on an indigo spectrum. 

Erin earned a BA in Visual Arts and Sculpture from the University of Saint Francis and MLS in Media Studies from Indiana University. Her creative practice is grounded in meditation, involving constant exploration, process and experimentation. Erin is an established art educator teaching in the Reggio Emilia Approach and parent of two creative teenagers with her partner of 25 years. Her work is collected throughout the US, internationally and resides in the Contemporary Photography Collection of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. She was recently awarded a Fellowship from the Lilly Endowment to take her “traveling studio” to Brazil during the summer of 2024.