Workshop: Happy Blues: Cyanotype & Memory-Making

Happy Blues: Cyanotype & Memory-Making

Sunday June 7, 2pm to 5pm

In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore ways of preserving the beauty of our short Calgary summer through the historic cyanotype process. Using locally gathered botanical materials, we will create a series of rich blue-and-white prints that capture details of seasonal plant life.

Participants will learn about the history of cyanotypes and be guided through each step of the process, including preparing paper, composing images, exposing prints, and developing the final works. Along the way, we will reflect on the act of noticing—paying attention to small, often overlooked details in the landscape as a way of documenting and preserving our experience of summer in the city.

Using some of the samples created, each participant will create a small handmade book of botanical cyanotypes, designed to be stored in a tin. This becomes a personal archive of the season, bringing together individual prints into a meaningful and personal collection.

You will leave with a completed mini book of cyanotype images, along with the knowledge and confidence to continue exploring and documenting the natural landscape in seasons to come.