Hope Bruns - The Peel Literature & Arts Review Zest Feature

To some, fate is inescapable. No matter how much they try, all of the signs around them point

to them being something they were destined to be. Some life architect has constructed a

cyanotype; a blueprint of their life long before they were born, and they follow that blueprint

to a T. They will do what they are meant to do. Everything is normal, going as planned, and…

expected.

But to others, they are the life architects. They write their own blueprint, they illustrate their

own life path, and they sculpt their own fate. The drafting table is their canvas, and the pen is

their paintbrush. Hope Bruns is one of these architects.

At an early age, Hope was surrounded by artistic talent. Her immediate family is one full of

musical composers and performers. Instruments always filled the house, and a cacophony of

sound would fill the neighborhood when it was time to practice. Of course, Hope tried music, as

it was a part of the blueprint laid out before her. But her passion lied elsewhere. And although

her mother, one who procured almost complete silence in one corner of the house as a graphic

designer, would be highly influential in Hope’s life journey, it would be Hope’s uncle that would

give her the tools to draw up her life plans.

On a beautiful spring afternoon, waterfalls cascade and a camera clicks, as a young Hope

watches her uncle capture long exposures of nature’s tears on his analog camera. In her uncle’s

pursuit of technology, this very same camera would become Hope’s first: the key to her

photographic future. She would go on to get familiar with digital, analog, and instant cameras,

taking headshots and landscapes when the opportunity presented itself. But something would

be missing, and Hope would realize she wasn’t satisfied with the point-and-shoot method. As

an artist at heart, she would want to see how experimental she could get.

“As I learn more about photography and more about processes, I’m discovering that I prefer

alternative processes… that I like doing stuff for myself more.”

To chase her own satisfaction, Hope would step into the world of darkroom film development

and would find preference in cyanotypes, photos developed in a blue solution. Each

photograph would take thirty to forty minutes to fully develop, but the end product was always

worth it for Hope. Taking the time to carefully craft something from life that could provoke

thought and intrigue, while also communicating her inner feelings… this is what Hope wanted

to do with the talent that she was given.

“Art is a good way for me to navigate emotions and thoughts… this is what works for me.”

At the drafting table of fate, Hope Bruns is her own life architect. She takes the expectations of

her and her surroundings and flips them on their heads, while still maintaining structure and

logical progression. And although photography for Hope may just be a hobby,

“I kind of think of it more as a… blueprint for my life.”