Print Shop

BIG NEWS! My print shop is now open! Offering carefully curated prints has been a part of my creative vision for quite some time, and it is a privilege to bring my shop to life in your presence today.

My inaugural print series, Dissolution, is now available to view and purchase as a second-edition series. Each print in this series has been ever-so-slightly lightened and printed on a new, textured, water-color like paper. While I believe the soft and natural essence of the images themselves remains timeless, their inspiration has stayed with me most: Carl Jung’s Shadow theory. Read my full artist’s statement, written in October 2019, here.

If you currently own the first edition of Dissolution and would like to purchase a second-edition print(s), I will put your original $18.00 purchase toward your new print. Please email me for an individual discount code at chelsea.j.oleary@gmail.com. If this option speaks to you, I would love for you to pass on your first-edition print(s) to someone who may appreciate or connect with the statement behind this series.

View the second edition of Dissolution here.

Next, my newest series of bearded irises is now available, as well! The creation of these images was quite serendipitous. I invite you to read the story behind this series below.

I walked through Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood as I had before hundreds of times. The afternoon rain had just stopped, and the neighborhood smelled of wet asphalt, brick sidewalks, and freshly mowed grass. Humidity filled the block as the sun turned what was left of the fallen rain into thick, heavy air. My digital camera hung on my right shoulder, and my film camera hung on my left. It seemed as though every home in the neighborhood agreed to grow different varieties of bearded irises to create an homage to colorful life anew every year come April and May. I came to expect this, this homage. Every year since moving to Nashville, bearded irises marked the arrival of spring, and this year, I planned to capture their tall, intricate bodies and blooms as I had the year before and the year before that.

Only a few minutes into my walk, I knelt in front of a stranger’s home to capture one bearded iris in particular. There was a lush row of Beverly Sills planted along the fence that separated her peony-filled front yard from the wet asphalt and brick sidewalks. I was nearly lying down on the sidewalk to capture this iris in a way that gave its shape justice when the homeowner walked out, noticed me, and asked, “What do you find so interesting?”

I told her how much I loved her bearded irises. I told her how, every year come April and May, I look forward to this walk with my cameras. “Germantown’s bearded irises mark the arrival of spring,” I told her, and the arrival of spring was our reminder Earth’s still spinning as we’re still living, and today, her Beverly Sills beheld this profound reminder.

She walked back inside only to return with garden shears. “Which is your favorite?” I hesitantly chose. Then, she chose. In an instance, she cut the two proudest irises at their bases and said, “I’m so glad you enjoy them as much as I do.”

Kind stranger, you were a small miracle to me in this wild, surreal season, and your kindness is far reaching. Your irises reminded me Earth’s still spinning as we’re still living, to always look up, to smile at strangers, to open doors for others, and always, always share my flowers.

This photo series is dedicated to kind strangers. May we notice them. May we be them.

Each bearded iris print is available in two sizes: 8x10 and 11x14. Each print from Dissolution is available in an 8x10 only. Remember, you can customize the size of your final piece by choosing a mat of your preference when framing.

All prints are unframed, signed, and dated. All prints ship worldwide. I also offer free, local pick-up. All local pick-up will be contact free until we have access to a COVID-19 vaccine.

All current prints will be available until December 31, 2020. Cheers!