Blue Botanicals

Cyanotype Printing Workshop
July 1, 2015, Ucross Foundation, Wyoming

In this workshop, we guide participants on a walk to gather botanical samples (leaves, stems, grasses, flowers, etc.) and utilize the plant matter to create imagery for cyanotype prints. In the finished photographs, the botanicals leave a light silhouette that captures details of their form against a rich blue background.

During the walk, Joseph Mougel will discuss his photographic practice of collection, specifically the documentation of grass specimens on the Ucross Ranch, including environmental conditions that favor certain species and human efforts to manage diversity.

After the walk, participants go indoors to arrange their botanicals on a piece of sensitized paper. Participants expose the compositions in direct sunlight and develop the images in water.

During the exposure/development process, Cynthia Brinich-Langlois will discuss her panoramic landscape drawings, which embody a connection between time and space in book form, as well as her utilization of the cyanotype process with its reliance on sunlight and water to situate the prints within a field-based practice.

Participants will be working outdoors in the sun and will be handling plants and water. Plan to wear apparel appropriate for the scheduled activities (hat, sturdy shoes, work clothes, etc.). Participants will take their cyanotypes home with them at the conclusion of the workshop.

Workshop Facilitators: Joseph Mougel & Cynthia Brinich-Langlois

Materials Provided:
sample bags
sensitized paper
glass/printing frames
nitrile gloves
processing trays

Timeframe:

  • Introduction

15-minute overview of workshop
explanation of cyanotype process/history
share examples of prints

  • Morning Walk

30-60 minutes at a leisurely pace
location / duration flexible depending on interests of participants

  • Midday Processing

1-2 hours
duration dependent on number of participants / number of prints individuals choose to create