Debra Mixon Holliday is a printmaker and longtime member of Butterfield Garage, known for her nature-inspired collagraph prints. Her latest series, “Once Around the Sun,” explores Florida’s flora and fauna through a yearlong artistic journey.
Tell me about your background as an artist.
I have been a working artist for a while now. I have a visual arts degree from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg since I'm originally from the Gulf Coast. As a child in the Gulf, I pretty much had free reign. I could wander the farm and go all over. I was always an observer, a looker, and I've just always been interested in the outdoors, the creatures, and the environments. That's the inspiration for my work, and it goes back to those childhood wanderings.
How did you get into the medium of artmaking that you currently use?
When I was in school, I had an instructor who was a printmaker, so I ended up becoming really interested in printmaking. Printmaking can be very technical and process-oriented, and it can also entail using some not-so-great chemicals, so a while back I started doing some exploring and I discovered a method of what's called collagraphs. It’s the marriage of two words: collage and graph. In traditional printmaking, you use a metal plate you etch into the metal and you transfer the image to paper using ink. With collagraphs, I essentially create a plate out of low-tech materials and I build up textures to score into the board, and then I transfer that image to paper using my artist press.
How long have you been working with the Butterfield Garage and how did you achieve Artist of the Month?
I've been a member at the Butterfield for probably about eight years, maybe a little longer. I'm a board member. It’s become my hometown art community. Every month, people typically create new art for a chance to be Artist of the Month. The gallery supports its artists by doing press releases and such, and then your opening is on the First Friday Art Walk. The reason that I was selected for Artist of the Month is because I received the Arts for All grant from the St. Johns Cultural Council. Part of my grant was to create this body of work called “Once Around the Sun,” and that was what I showed at the Butterfield for Artists of the Month back in July.
Tell me more about your “Once Around the Sun” series.
I wanted to explore the idea of featuring local flora and fauna for each month of the year. There are 24 pieces and I'm revising a few, but the bulk of this series is completed. Each month has a large piece, an 18x24, and a smaller piece to go with it. For example, January has a piece that features robins. For February, I chose squirrels. Every month has a representative image inspired by the local, native flora and fauna.
Would you say this is your favorite series you’ve worked on?
Yes, definitely. I was not active for a couple of years recently, due to being a caretaker for my mom, and then I had a health concern of my own. So, returning from that, I really needed a boost, and doing this series has been a bridge for me. What I do is a little obscure, but I’ve enjoyed focusing on what I'm interested in and not getting distracted.
Looking ahead to 2025, do you have any goals that you're working towards?
I'm just revising some of the images from my series and just kind of gathering my thoughts on how I want to proceed forward with what I learned from it. I’m going to return to teaching a little bit, too. I have ideas for a workshop in my brain, but I don't have a formal commitment yet. I have lots of things percolating.
