Water’s Harvest – ‘Seeds to Leaves’ Micro-Exhibition
Water and sunlight, essential for life, combine to nurture the lush flora surrounding me in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.
In ‘Water’s Harvest,’ I celebrate this essential partnership through artworks created with these elemental forces. Using the cyanotype technique, also known as ‘sun printing,’ I harness water and the sun’s UV light to create compositions with seeds and leaves. Each piece reflects the influence of water and sunlight, embodying the eternal cycle of growth, from seeds to leaves.
Seeds to Leaves – Micro Exhibition
“Seeds to Leaves” is a nature-inspired micro exhibition hosted by Adorn Sunshine Coast. As part of the showcase, I’m thrilled to present my latest artworks, each crafted to celebrate the profound beauty found in botanical life.
Inspired by the timeless adage “from little things big things grow,” this exhibition promises a journey through the enchanting world of flora, where every piece tells a story of growth, resilience and the boundless potential inherent in nature.
Adorn Sunshine Coast
171-183 Main Street, Montville
Dates: 1 March – 31 March
Open Friday-Monday – 10am-4pm
Adorn is a beautiful gallery-shop reminiscent of the quality and uniqueness of the artisan’s shops of the past in Montville. If you can’t make the exhibition, you must get to the shop to enjoy the beautiful handcrafted artistic jewellery and small objects available from Adorn.
‘Water’s Harvest’ – The Collection
‘Water’s Harvest’ is a visual homage to the primal energy sustaining life’s abundance. Each artwork is a ‘wet cyanotype‘, marked with the imprint of seeds or leaves, resonating with the timeless rhythm of creation and nourishment.
Cyanotype is an alternative photographic process invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842. The process was popularised by Anna Atkins in the 1840s with her production of a series of books documenting her family’s seaweed collection, the largest in Britain. Using the Cyanotype process, she created the world’s first botanical photographic reference book.
The process involves creating a UV light sensitive non-toxic emulsion. Paper is coated with the emulsion, objects placed on the paper, then the paper is placed under the sun’s UV light. When the UV light contacts the emulsion, a chemical reaction occurs that ultimately results in a blue and white ‘sun-printed’ image.
The 4 artworks below are my favourites from the collection (I love them all, but these ones a little bit more than the others). They have been adorned with 23ct gold leaf. I love their fluid nature and the earthy tones that emerged as a result of the process.
The 4 artworks below have no gold leaf adornment. The first artwork has had a pigment added to the exposure process; and the other 3 are coloured naturally by pushing boundaries and manipulating the approach and exposure.
The artworks below rounded out the collection. Some with small gold leaf adornment detail and some without.
Learn how to create your own Cyanotype
I run both in-person and online workshops about this the cyanotype process.
Cyanotype Workshops Online
Price: AU $97
Self Paced
– 6 Learning Modules
– 2 Bonus Modules
– 2 hours of video content across 50+ videos
– Tips, Troubleshooting and Resources
– Free access to The Colour Workshop
Learn how to create your own cyanotype ‘sun prints’ and ‘blue prints’ using the sun as your UV light source. The focus is on creating photograms on paper with found objects, and simple contact prints with film positives and negatives.
Cyanotype – In-person
Venue: The Studio, Maleny, Australia
Duration: 1 day
ALL materials included
Skill level: Beginner
Play with and explore this traditional non-toxic photographic printmaking process. Deceptively simple and easy to continue at home or in your own studio.
Cyanotype Beyond the Basics – In-person
Venue: The Studio, Maleny, Australia
Duration: 1 day
ALL materials included
Skill level: Intermediate-Advanced
Bleach and tone cyanotype prints. Push the boundaries of photograms and wet cyanotype contact prints. Play and explore. Prior cyanotype experience essential.
Hahaha, glad I made you smile! Summer was great and now we’re entering winter in SA, however, I’m researching purchasing a UV lamp for an indoor studio, but it’s hard to find the correct specifications for it. If you have any info, I’d appreciate it very much. Take care, and happy cyanotyping! Ronelle
no, I don’t have any specs I’m sorry. Our UV is enough year-round to cyanotype. I love using the word ‘cyanotype’ as a verb! I’ll work with UV down to 2, just means longer exposure. What UV ratings do you get in SA?
Dear Kim, your work is exquisite. I love this collection. You absolutely remain to be my cyano-goddess. 🙂 Thanks for all I have learned from you. Blessings on your way, Warm regards, Ronelle, Western Cape, South Africa.
Hi Ronelle, thank you so much ???? cyano-goddess might be a bit of a stretch, but it made me smile. I hope you had a fabulous cyaotype-summer. cheers, Kim ????