Get acquainted with Cyanotype, a technique from the early days of photography. Developed in 1843 by Sir John Herschel, a British scientist looking for a way to copy his notes, this method, also known as blueprinting, was used for over 100 years to photocopy architectural drawings and designs. Additionally, the technique became world-famous through Anna Atkins, a botanist who used it to document her collection of dried plants in 20 books composed of plant blueprints.

In this workshop, you will follow in the footsteps of Anna Atkins and create a series of botanical blueprints using plants. The base is paper that has been made light-sensitive with a solution consisting of two iron salts. You will arrange fresh plants in a composition, then expose them to UV light. Under the influence of sunlight, the paper changes color. After exposure, you will rinse the paper in water, revealing the characteristic cyan-blue hue. The technique is magical. The workshop allows room for experimentation and the possibility to add text. You will leave with a series of botanical blueprints on paper, in A4 and A5 sizes. If the weather is sunny, we can do the exposure outside.

Jacolien de Jong is an artist who expresses her love and fascination for the beauty of nature in artworks that incorporate plant material from her personal herbarium. When she encountered the botanical images of Anna Atkins, she was captivated by the cyanotype technique. In her cyanotype artworks, she combines photographic images with plants and poetry. In 2023, she collaborated with poet Suzanne van Leendert to create the book “Poetic Blueprint of Nature”. Jacolien aims to keep this traditional photographic copying method alive and inspire others. She shares her knowledge and experience in masterclasses and workshops for amateurs and professionals at her studio in Utrecht and on location.