Botanical Impressions Workshop 4: Cyanotype & Anthotype Botanical Printing

BOTANICAL IMPRESSIONS

Explore the creative possibilities of plants through a series of hands-on workshops celebrating natural colour, texture, printmaking, and image-making.

Drawing inspiration from traditional craft practices, contemporary art, natural dyeing, and early photographic processes, Botanical Impressions invites participants to discover how leaves, flowers, roots, berries, and sunlight can become tools for creative expression.

Whether you’re an artist, gardener, maker, or simply curious about working with natural materials, these workshops offer an opportunity to slow down, observe closely, and experiment with the colours, patterns, and forms found in the natural world.

All materials are provided, and we’ll pause mid-morning for tea, coffee, and homemade scones.

Workshops run from 10.00am to 1.00pm on Thursday and Saturday mornings.

No previous experience is required.

Botanical Impressions Workshop 4: Cyanotype & Anthotype Botanical Printing

Date: Thursday 27th August
Time: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Celebrate nature, light, and time in this hands-on workshop exploring cyanotype and anthotype printing, two historic image-making processes that use sunlight and plants to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind prints.

Using botanical specimens, found objects, and sunlight, you’ll create striking blue cyanotypes while discovering the fascinating history of this early photographic process. You’ll also explore anthotypes, a slower and more experimental technique that uses light-sensitive plant pigments to produce delicate images through the gradual bleaching effects of sunlight.

This workshop includes:

• An introduction to the history of cyanotype and anthotype printing.
• A live cyanotype demonstration and guided printing session.
• A demonstration of how to make anthotype emulsions from plant pigments.
• Time to create your own cyanotype prints using botanical materials and found objects.
• Setting up your own anthotype exposures to continue developing at home.

Along the way, we’ll explore the pioneering work of Sir John Herschel and Anna Atkins, and consider how science, nature, and photography intersect through these remarkable early printing processes.

All materials are provided, and we’ll pause mid-morning for tea, coffee, and homemade scones.

Image Gallery - Click to enlarge