Our third Artist Interview features returning participant Carolyn Nye, whose work effortlessly blends nature, photography, fiber arts, collage, and alternative processes into deeply thoughtful mixed-media pieces. A four-time DEFAD artist, Carolyn shares how the month-long challenge helped reignite her creative practice, why she keeps coming back each year, and how everything from cyanotypes and sewing to travel, gardens, and quiet walks outdoors fuels her imagination. Along the way, we also chat about England, photography, sketching on the road, hidden artistic gems close to home, and the importance of making space for creativity in an increasingly busy world. Thanks, Carolyn!
We like to know how people are connected to Delaware - are you a resident, born and raised? What brought you to Delaware Fun-A-Day (DEFAD)?
I moved here as a young kid. Except for one year in my 30’s, I’ve always lived in Delaware.
You've now participated in Delaware Fun-A-Day in 2022, 2023, 2025, and now 2026. This is your fourth year. What keeps drawing you back to the challenge year after year? Has your approach to the project changed since that first year?
The first year helped me get back into creating more art after a hiatus. Now I love the challenge of creating something everyday and especially love seeing what everyone else is doing. There is so much creativity, so many interpretations of art and reminds me how many creative people are out there.
Your DEFAD projects have explored a wide range of media, from cyanotypes and needlework in 2022, to watercolor illustrations in 2023, to stitched mixed-media collage work in 2025. Looking back, which project surprised you the most, and what did it teach you about yourself as an artist?
Even though it was visually my least favorite, I really liked last years’s project. I saw a lot of similarities and themes in the work and I loved sewing the pieces together to display.
Your 2022 project combined cyanotypes, natural materials, and needlework into a series of beautiful botanical pieces. For readers unfamiliar with the process, what exactly is a cyanotype and how does it work? What first attracted you to the medium, and what can it achieve that painting or drawing simply can't?
Cyanotypes are an early photography process created before old fashioned film. It combines two readily available chemicals and using the sun, allows you to print on different kinds of surfaces. You can use negatives to get a typical photograph, or you can lay objects directly onto the painted surface and it will create and outline and sometimes the detail inside the object, like plants.
Cyanotypes are a perfect middle ground between drawing and painting and old fashioned dark room photography with film and chemicals. It has some of the precision work of darkroom photography (the chemicals, etc) but a lot less control in the final outcome which reminds me of more traditionally painterly processes.
I love photography alternative processes.
Aside from cyanotypes, you’ve worked with embroidery, watercolor, collage, mixed media, and even Shrinky Dinks. Is there a medium you've always wanted to explore but haven't tackled yet? Or should we all brace ourselves for a future DEFAD project involving something completely unexpected?
I would love to work more in fabric arts. I love to sew. I can’t quite figure out a way to incorporate it yet in a way that isn’t too time intensive and also feels authentic. I use old tissue sewing pattern pieces in some of my collages.
This year I’m debating what to do. I usually wait for divine inspiration right before July starts. I’m leaning toward cyanotypes of plant materials but only plants that are imperfect, like eaten by bugs. But I might focus less on the medium and more on plants from my yard and try different mediums depending on my mood. Some sketches, some cyanotypes, mono prints with gel plates, a photograph, phytotypes (it’s new to me alternative process I’ve been dabbling in using black and white photography paper and using the plants themselves to create chemical processes directly on the paper). I really like incorporating nature one way or another.
You've clearly explored some fascinating places over the years. Whether it's a museum, botanical garden, small town, hidden trail, or quirky roadside attraction, what are a few places you'd enthusiastically recommend to fellow travelers and creatives?
I think one of the best things you can do is explore your local area like a tourist. We’re fortunate to live in what’s often called the Garden Capital of the U.S., and it’s hard to beat the variety of beautiful places nearby.
Longwood Gardens is wonderful, but if you’re looking for something quieter and more naturalistic, Mt. Cuba is incredible. It’s one of my favorite places to sketch and gather inspiration for gardens and artwork. I also love spending time at Lums Pond and White Clay Creek.
I think our museums are often underappreciated as well. There’s an urban sketch group that occasionally meets at the science museum, and before joining them once, I had never even considered it as a sketching destination. It opened my eyes to a completely new perspective on a familiar place.
There are also so many cute towns close by. Right down the road is Historic New Castle, my all time favorite. I love to walk around there and it’s a change of scenery that feels very different from where I live.
I could go on and on, but I think the key is looking out for experiences that feel different from your everyday routine, even if they’re close to home. Try a new restaurant, visit a small local art exhibit, or spend an afternoon somewhere you’ve never been to before. Those are experiences that help keep things fresh and inspiring.
The best part is that many of these experiences don’t have to cost a lot, or anything. Sometimes just spending time in a new environment is enough to spark inspiration and make the familiar feel new again.
You take some genuinely beautiful photographs while you’re out and about. This interviewer is especially drawn to your macro flower and bug photos. Has photography ever tempted you as a primary artistic medium? Could you ever see yourself building a future Delaware Fun-A-Day project around photography alone?
I got my college degree in photography so I have a background. I never pursued it as a career but I like to dabble here and there. I’ve thought about doing a straight photography project before but I really love hands on alternative processes and mixed media.
On your Substack, you describe yourself as an artist, sewer, reader, gardener, and someone who tries to "stay aware, stay in the moment, and find some joy" without becoming overwhelmed by the heaviness of the world. That's a sentiment I suspect many people can relate to these days. Has art become part of how you process the world around you? What role does creativity play in helping you stay grounded?
Creating on a regular basis is really important to me, whether it’s sewing, collaging, or taking photographs. It gets me out of my head, though sometimes I create things about the world and just the act of making helps me feel better. I also think it’s really important that life is more than work and consumption. Community and creating are what make us human.
Anything else you’d like to share or enlighten us with? Where can people buy your artwork or how can they connect with you?
I’m on Substack @Carolynnye and Instagram @Haykyn
DEFAD inspired me to start an art meetup! I wanted to see more of what other people did on a regular basis, keep creating myself, and meet other artists. We try to meet once a month at Autumn Arch to have a beer and make art with no pressure. Check us out on social media under Delaware Art Create and Connect. We are on Facebook, Instagram, Substack and Bluesky. Best place to find the events are on Facebook. Come hang out with us and make art!