Botanicals and Plant-Based Printing Processes

Botany and photography have been linked since the earliest photographic experiments, from Thomas Wedgewood and Henry Fox Talbot’s photograms of plant material to Anna Atkins’ cyanotype portraits of British algae. Not only did nineteenth-century photographers document plants using photographic processes, they also investigated the use of plant chemistry and how it might apply to the new medium.

With environmental concerns on all our minds, we often look at ways to produce our photographs in less toxic ways, working with the natural world and with a desire to minimize the toxic components that are part of many photographic processes. Get outdoors and connect to nature with processes that use natural sunlight and common plant materials in this online workshop with interdisciplinary artist Anne Eder.

Over the course of a month, Anne introduces the group to anthotypes, chlorophyll printing, lumens, phytograms, and other plant-based printing methods. Most materials needed for this workshop are easily obtainable from the backyard, a nearby park, or your local grocery store. During each group session, Anne offers an in-depth demonstration of a particular printing process and then inspires her students to take what they have learned and dive into exploring their own creative vision while working at home. The next week, Anne answers questions, helps troubleshoot technical difficulties, reviews each student’s images, and then launches into a new process demonstration.

This spring, come play with Anne in the garden of earthly delights with her nineteenth-century mentors in this new online workshop.