Meet Catherine Tully
Catherine Tully is a cyanotype artist from Des Plaines, Illinois, whose visual language is deeply shaped by more than five decades in the world of ballet. Her lifelong engagement with movement, balance, and line informs her distinctive approach to botanical cyanotypes and wet cyanotype experimentation.
Tully’s work is grounded in an attentive dialogue with the natural world, using sunlight, water, plant materials, and other substances to explore themes of impermanence, fragility, ephemeral beauty, and ecological interconnection. Her prints are marked by a dancer’s sensitivity to form and structure, paired with a willingness to explore and embrace the unpredictability of organic processes.
She currently serves as the Artist in Residence at Friendship Park Conservatory.
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See Catherine’s art on display at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods April 1 – 25, 2026.
Media: Wet cyanotype, print
Catherine’s Artist Statement
“Sine sole sileo. Without the sun, I am silent—a truth that guides both the making and meaning of my work. After spending over five
decades in ballet, I find my eye most drawn to the elegance of line and form, which nature generously provides in abundance. In my
traditional cyanotypes, I collaborate with sunshine and water to honor the delicate architecture of botanicals in Prussian blue and white.
In my wet cyanotypes, various hues drift and mingle, producing multicolored, experimental images that flirt with chaos—a reminder
that nature, and life, rarely stay neatly in place.
Each print is a quiet act of presence, a pause to honor the fragile, fleeting moments that often slip by unnoticed. Making art becomes
a conversation with the natural world—a way to witness its beauty, feel its impermanence, and recognize how deeply intertwined our
lives are with the environment around us. My work invites the eye to observe, contemplate, and consider the delicate interconnections
of the natural world, connecting with the tender poetry of life in all its ephemeral richness.”
Image: Queen Anne’s Lace/Wild Carrot, by Catherine Tully
Media: Traditional cyanotype, print
Artist of the Month Events
April 25
10:00 am – 3:00 pm | Free
Open Art Workshop with Catherine Tully
Open Art Workshop is open to anyone who wants to make something in any area of visual arts and crafts, from the experienced artist looking for a community of others to work with, to the complete novice who just wants to try something out in a low pressure environment, or the family looking for a fun kids’ activity to fill their afternoon – this workshop is for you!
