Printing with Kaye Donachie | Cyanotypes
from £90
[ Workshop )
Learn the art of cyanotype print with artist Kaye Donachie.
Inspired by Kaye’s current exhibition Song for the Last Act, you will create a cyanotype print with her guidance and discover the process of exposing negative shapes under UV light to make your own unique images. No two cyanotype prints are the same. This is an exciting photographic printing process with unpredictable results!
What to expect?
The day will begin with a practical demonstration of chemical mixing and paper coating to make a light sensitive surface. You will gain an understanding of light exposure, and the conditions necessary to create a successful print.
As a class, you will explore experimental ways of making stencils for exposure, as well as sharing in contemporary approaches, such as using photonegatives and acetate sheets to draw an image directly into the print. We will work with the sun as our UV light. Changes in the light source determines the intensity of the Cyanotype prints produced.
You do not need to have any experience in printmaking. This is a fun, easy and accessible way of creating an image. The workshop will equip you with the knowledge to confidently continue to print with this process at home.
You will also have the option to book a lunch with your workshop. Please find more information below.
What is cyanotype printing?
Cyanotypes a method of camera-less photography, using UV (sun) light and a chemical mixture to create a dark blue print.
First discovered in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, this photochemical reaction used to create blueprints was popularised in nineteenth century Britain by artist Anna Atkins and her botanical studies. It has then gone on to be used by artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Susan Weil and many contemporary responses.
These ghostly images create an opportunity for creativity and storytelling, Kaye Donachie features one of her Cyanotypes in her exhibition ‘Song for the Last Act’ at the Gallery (open until 8 October).
Break with tea, coffee and lunch provided by Pallant Café
You have the option to book a delicious packed lunch to enjoy during the break, delivered to you during the workshop. Indulge in the mouth-watering vegetarian Tart of the Month with a side salad, all for just £11. The meal is gluten free.
However, if you prefer to bring your own packed lunch, you’re more than welcome to do so. We want you to be comfortable and enjoy your workshop to the fullest.
There will be several breaks throughout the day and all attendees will be provided with hot tea, coffee, or water.
What to bring?
All materials will be included, but you are welcome to bring images to inspire your work. We advise that you bring with you a selection of items to experiment with when making your Cyanotype prints. These objects should be flat, as they will be pressed. Flowers, leaves, lace, feathers, cut-out shapes, fabrics and ribbons all work very well when making Cyanotypes.
When making Cyanotypes we will be using chemicals, please be mindful that they do stain all surfaces, including skin. Please wear suitable clothes and shoes for working with these materials. We will provide basic protective gear such a gloves, plastic aprons and goggles for those who need them.
Artist bio - Kaye Donachie
Kaye Donachie’s paintings draw inspiration from the biographies of early twentieth century avant-garde women. Often-marginalised modernist performers, actresses and poets are figured and made visible as her subjects. The protagonists in her works are formed by their clear sense of identity, evidenced through their writing, art and unconventional presence. With their distinct colour palette and use of light, these atmospheric paintings are richly evocative of a distant time and place, forging an emotional connection between viewer and subject. In reimagining historical women in contemporary painting, Donachie explores their resonance for viewers today. Merging disparate fragments of literature, biography and archival imagery, Donachie alludes to a poetic sense of time and place.
Pallant House Gallery is pleased to present the first solo institutional exhibition in Britain of contemporary artist Kaye Donachie. A selection of her new and recent paintings, some created especially for the exhibition, will be presented in the Gallery’s Queen Anne townhouse.
