This week I have started my natural colour making experiments, using the petals of dye plants that I had grown last year at Long Eaton Community Garden such as safflowers and zinnias. I experimented with alum, soda ash, citric acid and iron modifiers to change the colours of the dyes. I found that I had added too much water and the dyes needed concentrating down to make inks. I had also made the mistake of storing my dried dyestuff in plastic bags and as you can imagine had g

This week I've been learning about cyanotype animations and have been revisiting some previous learning on duo-toning cyanotypes with botanicals. I've been preparing some negatives from local walks along the canal and trips to the allotment ready to print and use. I would like to experiment with toning the prints with plant material collected from the canal and allotment so that I can find a deeper connection to place. On previous foraging trips I came across mugwort and I ha

A Sunday morning well spent in the woodland at Rushcliffe Country Park with Wild and Wonder, learning about foraging during the winter months. I learnt that the energy of a plant is concentrated in the root system during the winter and so it is here that you will find the most nutrition. I also learnt that plants such as sticky weed, are better to forage when they are young and close to the ground. This made me think about the different types of plants that are available to f