Plant Pigments with Joan Alexander: 17 & 19 September

As part of her art residency at Yarn, artist Joan Alexander will lead a workshop exploring plant pigments, light and shadow.

Participants will make pigment from plants and use it to create an anthotype print. You are invited to bring a flower or plant you would like to work with. This might mean something to you, be connected to a significant place, or have been grown or foraged locally.

Please note: The colour produced by a plant may be different from the colour of its petals. Results will also vary depending on how fresh the material is and how bright the available light is.

Choose a free workshop session:

• Thursday 17 September: 7–9 pm

• Saturday 19 September: 10 am–12 pm

• Free event. Booking essential.

What to bring

• Almost anything that photosynthesises can be used, including leaves such as nettles, ferns and dock leaves, or flowers such as roses and hydrangeas. Plants gathered from gardens or roadsides can also work.

• Soft seaweeds, such as sea lettuce, may be used, although tougher varieties can be more difficult to extract pigment from and may need to be cooked first.

• Only a small amount of plant material is needed. A pocketful or small container is plenty, and usual foraging etiquette applies. A large flower, such as a rose, may provide enough pigment to fill a small jar.

• Fresh flowers tend to expose more quickly and may produce clearer results. Flowers that have started to dry can still work beautifully, but may take longer. Petals that have begun to turn brown may create softer sepia or tan tones.

Participants can also bring:

• A picture frame they would like to use when exposing their print. Plain clip frames will also be available.

• An object to expose onto the pigment print, such as an old photo negative, feather, string, wool or netting.

• A plant or natural material that creates negative space, such as dried grasses, ferns or seed heads.

There will also be an opportunity to make a cardboard cut-out during the workshop.

Shadow Casting

Visitors will trace the shadows of themselves, one another or the space using sunlight or artificial light, depending on the conditions.

These tracings can then be cut out and used to cast new shadows within Yarn or incorporated into anthotype prints.

If there is sustained sunlight, there may also be an opportunity to create a collective shadow dial using Yarn’s large windows.

To read more about Joan’s work and the full residency programme, visit our Artist in Residence page.

This residency is supported by Flowerfield Arts Centre.

About Joan Alexander

Joan Alexander is an artist from Omagh, now living in Ballycastle with her family. Her work is rooted in shadow catching through experimental and staged works. She has worked and exhibited across the UK, Ireland and beyond, including with Photoworks, Lumen Collective, CCA Derry, Belfast Exposed, Digital Art Studios and PS².

Joan is currently a practice-based PhD researcher at Belfast School of Art. Her research brings together shadow theatre, staged works, photosensitive plant pigments and ghost stories, exploring the traces that connect us to absence and are difficult to hold onto.