Print Your Own Cyanotype & Blend Your Own Tea

A cyanotype is a historical, alternative photographic blueprint process that uses ultraviolet light-sensitive iron salts, and produces a negative of an object or image through contact-printing, typically using sunlight as the source of exposure, and developing the image in water. This blueprint process was first discovered by an astronomer named John Herschel in 1842, and was used to reproduce technical drawings. The cyanotype process was popularized in 1843 by Anna Atkins, a botanist and pioneering figure in photographic history, when she released the earliest-known photographically illustrated book: Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. Anna Atkins is well known for her large collection of botanical cyanotype prints. Today, it is a well-known, alternative photographic process that is accessible to anyone interested in exploring their creative side, regardless of artistic knowledge or experience. 

In this cyanotype workshop, you will join Providence-based artist, Kim Arthurs, for a hands-on tutorial on creating your very own 8”x10” cyanotype print. All materials will be provided, including (pre-harvested/pre-pressed) botanicals from Shewatuck Farm. You will have the opportunity to craft a botanical composition that will print in the sunlight, and take a tour of the farm and explore the abundant medicinal herbs and flowers grown by Jo-Anna Cassino at Shewatuck Farm. When your prints have been fully exposed, you will develop them in water, and let them air dry. 

This event also features a tour of Shewatuck Farm with Jo-Anna Cassino, resident Herbalist on the farm, who will guide you through the Medicinal Herb Gardens, a visit to the Apiary, and a general walk through the grounds, as well as an opportunity to blend your own tea using medicinal herbs grown, harvested, and provided by Jo-Anna while your cyanotypes print in the sunlight at Shewatuck Farm. 

Kim is a queer artist, writer, and coffee roaster, and specializes in cyanotypes and mixed media.

Kim is a queer artist, writer, and coffee roaster, and specializes in cyanotypes and mixed media. They live in Providence, RI where they first taught themselves the cyanotype process on the summer solstice and fell in love with blending creative practice with nature and its elements. Kim likes to garden and forage, and uses botanicals grown in their garden to craft cyanotype dreamscapes. They have had their artwork featured in a few literary magazines, and installed in various locations around New England, and they teach cyanotype workshops. You can explore their portfolio and learn more about their upcoming workshops, shows, and events at www.moonersmakes.com and follow them on instagram/facebook at @moonersmakes. 

Jo-Anna is an herbalist, artist, creative and musician who has gained a broad knowledge and understanding in the subtle language of plants, their kinship to us and the many ways in which they are our allies. Her ancestry and tradition (Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African) has been a heavy influence and is deeply interwoven through her herbalism and her botanical creations. Born in the United States, but having lived in Italy for 16 years gave her a unique opportunity to embrace both sides of her being and provide for an ample means of expression. She owns Flipp salon - Apothecary, which is both a salon and art space that hosts both stylists and a wide range of artists and artisans who use the space to exhibit their art. She also owns Botanic providence, an herb/gift shop with a fully stocked apothecary of herbs and self care created in house, among many other small treasures. You can glimpse into her worlds at www.flippsalon.com and  www.botanicpvd.com or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/botanicprovidence and www.instagram.com/flippsalon