Hannah Carpenter Pitkin is a multifaceted queer artist thriving in Central Vermont, where she expresses her creativity through photography, painting, and mixed media art. With a passion for artistic expression that began in childhood, Hannah honed her skills during her teenage years, focusing on black and white photography through an independent study program at her high school. Her father, recognizing her burgeoning talent, transformed the milk house in their barn into a darkroom using equipment handed down from his father. This unique space became Hannah's sanctuary, where she spent countless hours immersed in the magic of analogue photography. Under the mentorship of portrait artist and historian Ethan Hubbard and Vermont photographer Andrew Klein, Hannah deepened her love for the photographic medium.
After graduating high school, she pursued a degree in Studio Art and Jazz at the University of Vermont before completing her Individualized Bachelor of Arts in Photographic Theory and Technique at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. During this transformative period, she learned the intricate wet plate collodion photography technique from renowned photographer Jill Enfield in New York City, further fueling her passion for the art form. Hannah’s college years were marked by a strong commitment to social activism, particularly as a photographic documentarian and archivist with Combat Papermakers. She embarked on two cross-country tours with them, collaborating with veterans and students through art therapy programs, capturing the authenticity of their experiences.
Her work has consistently centered on the duality of suffering and gratitude, both in her personal and professional endeavors. Over the years, she has received numerous commissions for portraits, maternity shoots, weddings, and live performances, while her paintings have found homes across the country. For Hannah, art serves as a vital source of processing and therapy; it offers her a lens through which to navigate her place in the world, providing purpose and meaning. Characterized by an outgoing and bright demeanor balanced with a thoughtful and private nature, Hannah’s art reflects the complexity of her varied life experiences, from deeply painful to spectacular to inquisitive. She draws inspiration from the natural world, exploring themes of life and death and the intersection where darkness meets light. Her diverse body of work includes large-scale acrylic and mixed media paintings, wet plate collodion images, film photography, and alternative process printing, with a distinct preference for the tangible authenticity of analogue processes. As an artist in her mid-thirties, Hannah has witnessed the transition from a predominantly analogue world to a digital one, often expressing a yearning for emotional depth and intentionality in her creations. This longing propels her to increasingly embrace analogue forms of creativity, countering her discomfort with digital mediums.
Currently residing in Vermont with her wife and child, Hannah continues to explore the beauty of the natural world while dedicating herself to her artistic practice, infusing her work with the sincerity of her personal journey and the stories of those around her.
