Put science, art and inclusion inside one making process that everybody can finish.
Sunlight and plant material develop into deep blue images on light-sensitive paper — a process that looks like magic while genuinely teaching photochemistry alongside composition. The steps are simple enough that wheelchair users, one-handed participants and those with special educational needs can all complete it independently.
WORKSHOP RECORD
A low-barrier experience that holds science, art and inclusion together — and in which no participant can fail.
IN THE ROOM
Reference images of the format and what participants take home.
Explaining how the image develops
Selecting plants and composing
Exposure
Washing, drying and mounting
ORIGINS
The cyanotype was invented in 1842 by the British astronomer Sir John Herschel, working from the way certain iron salts react to light. He named it after the Greek cyan, deep blue.
What made it matter was a botanist. In October 1843 Anna Atkins began recording seaweed specimens this way and published British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions — the first book in history to be printed and illustrated photographically, ahead of Fox Talbot's The Pencil of Nature in 1844. She used no camera. She laid the specimens straight onto sensitised paper and put them in the sun.
That is exactly how this workshop works. No lens, no darkroom equipment: the image is made by sunlight and time. It is visible enough to feel like magic and explainable enough to teach, which is why it sits well in inclusive settings and STEAM programmes.
LIGHT × LEAVES × BLUE
Plants, sunlight and sensitised paper fix a composition in a single moment. The deep blue that surfaces after washing is the trace of a scientific principle and a personal choice, left at the same time.
FOR YOUR INTERNAL PROPOSAL
Suited to schools, NGOs and intergenerational programmes that have to balance learning objectives against barriers to participation, letting everyone build their own piece from light, plants and composition.
VENUE NOTES
A sunlit position — by a window, on a rooftop or outdoors — plus a wash point for the basins and space to dry prints. On overcast days we bring UV lamps, which need one power socket.
COMMON QUESTIONS
RELATED READING
The pieces organisers raise most often when planning a session like this.
Flagship · CollaborativeEveryone paints their own tile, and the tiles combine into one large work carrying a company theme or an annual message. Each individual contribution stays legible on its own, while the full picture only appears once every person has finished.
Participants learn how a scent is structured through top, heart and base notes, then compose a personal blend and name it. There is no open flame and no tool noise at any point, which makes it viable where space is tight but the experience still needs to feel considered.
The individual format produces a coaster or a small lampshade; the collaborative format has each person complete one section of a permanent mural. Every piece arrives pre-cut and edge-smoothed, so a longer making session stays safe and focused throughout.
Send us your date, headcount and venue. We reply within two working days with a workable plan and a quote.
