This week I've been at Bloom Sheffield to take part in a natural dye workshop led by artist Charlie Hill. The workshop began with a walk in Cat Lane Wood to forage for hawthorn berries and oak galls. It was here that I got the chance to see a cherry gall for the first time! We learnt about winter tree identification and found lots of jelly ear fungi. The woods sit next to the Heeley & Meersbrook allotment site, home to two of Bloom Sheffield's allotment plots. Heeley & Meersb

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