Hello and welcome to Art Sundays. My name is Francesca and today we will explore some of the
inspiring works in the Unearthed: Photography's Roots exhibition and learn how to make a flower
press and plant prints. The exhibition explores the history of photography through nature
and includes over 100 works by 25 photographers. Here's one of Anna Atkins cyanotype prints.
For this workshop you will need: collected plants, a ruler, a pen, a pair of scissors, a pencil,
sheets of cardboard, six sheets of a4 white paper and a selection of coloured paper,
a velcro strap, inking tray and two rollers, white block ink and newspaper.
Anna Atkins dedicated herself to collecting plants
she used a flower press to flatten the plant and carefully stored them.
Foraging for plants is fun feel like an explorer really get up close and see the
different shapes and feel the textures see if you can identify some of the plants.
I often use nature to inspire my artwork and find that outdoors is a great place to start.
So let's begin. Start by covering your work area
with paper or an old cloth and remember to wear something that you don't mind getting messy.
Take one sheet of a4 white paper and fold it in half to make a5.
We're going to use the a5 paper to mark out our sheets of card.
Use your pencil to mark the corners.
I'm using cardboard that I've collected from delivery boxes.
Using a ruler, join the marks together.
Using the scissors cut out your sheet of a5 card.
Take your time it can be a little bit tricky. We're going to repeat
this six times so it can be a little bit tiring so take a break if you need to.
Next we need 12 sheets of a5 paper, fold the paper in half.
Draw a line down the middle so you have a guide and cut carefully.
We're going to repeat this six times.
A5 is a great portable size for a flower press. I often take mine with me when i go for long walks.
You can pop it in your bag or hold it in your hand.
The sheets of paper are really important in the flower press.
It helps to keep the plants tidy and protected in between the layers of card
Now we are ready to build our flower press. Start by placing one sheet of card
and then a piece of paper on top carefully select your plants and lay them on top of the paper.
Be careful to make sure that they're not too close together and give them enough space so
they don't get squashed. Place a piece of paper on top and then lay a piece of card on top
and then we're going to repeat. Paste a piece of paper and then select more plants.
Also another thing to check is that your plants
aren't wet. If they're a little bit wet just get a paper towel and just wipe them off gently.
Remember to keep paying attention to spacing out your plants they don't get overcrowded
and then build with the layers of card and paper in between
the layers of card and paper, really make the press sturdy
and keep everything nice and neat together.
Okay so it's time to secure the press together I'm using some velcro strap which you can get from
any DIY or most stationary shops online but if you don't have that you could use some string
or some ribbon. So I'm going to measure the velcro strap by wrapping it around the press
and then cutting it
The velcro strap is a little bit fiddly so you might need a helping hand with this part
I'm now going to use the piece of strap that I've cut as a measuring guide for the second strap
and then just trim that off
carefully wrap the strap around
and secure it in place.
The velcro strap is a really really good way of keeping everything neatly together
and you can tighten it up.
Perfect that's a flower press all ready so we're going to leave the flower press
in a nice dry place for one week. I often place a book on top just to keep everything weighed down.
This is a flower press that i have prepared before
and it's quite interesting because i've used different plants. So carefully lift
up the card in the paper and reveal your plants they should all be nice and flat.
I've used different flowers here different plants
so really do have fun when you're exploring and try to find a range of different plants.
So now we're ready to start printing
I've chosen two of my plants and placed them on a piece of paper
using an inking tray. Squeeze a little bit of your block ink onto the tray using your roller
roll out the ink try to get even coating on the roller. If you don't have a roller don't
worry you can use a paint brush to apply apply the paint directly on to the plants
Once you've got even coating on your roller you can start to ink up your plants
start from the bottom and work your way upwards
I usually start with a thin layer of ink and build it up as I go along
I find it easier to work this way because it can get too messy
don't worry if you lose some leaves along the way I think this adds to the print.
So just carefully ink up your plant,
keep going if you lose some leaves along the way it doesn't matter
and then just touch up any final areas.
So I'm using white ink taking inspiration from Anna Atkins cyanotype prints
now we are ready to make our first print
select your paper and carefully place the plant ink facing down
place a piece of newspaper on top and using a clean ink roller gently apply some pressure
repeat this two to three times
If you don't have a roller don't worry you can always use the back of a wooden spoon
this is the part i enjoy the most the reveal I love the way every print has its own character
okay let's set this print aside so it can dry and let's do another one
so inking up your roller again and apply the ink evenly to your plant
I'm using water-based block ink but you can always use poster paint if you don't have it
also try different surfaces to print on and different colours too if you have
them
Remember to place your pants ink facing down onto the paper
and then gently apply some pressure to the back
now let's get ready for the reveal
peel back your plants
and have a look at your prints
next using any leftover plants let's make a botanical display
select your plants and place it onto a piece of paper
once you're happy tape it in place
Now select a piece of paper to mount your display onto i've chosen a vintage piece of paper
try to find out the name of your plant and if you know the name of your plant you can write it down
at the bottom of your display
This plant is called a swamp cypress
These displays make great gifts and look wonderful on the wall. Well done everyone and thank you for
watching I hope you enjoyed the workshop remember to share your artwork @dulwichgallery #artsundays