I delivered two creative taster sessions at Ninewells Community Garden on 12 and 26 February, to the groups brought together for a full day of discussions and planning around the Realities project. The wood burning stove was delightful and kept us very cosy in the Garden’s enclosed space. Meeting room quickly turned into workshop space and, having mindfully picked up some leaves and other bits of natural materials on a tour of the garden, participants made vaseline prints on photographic paper.
This playful and experimental process involves coating the leaf in vaseline then printing it onto the darkroom paper. I brought some of my stash of old ‘expired’ darkroom papers that are great for these experiments. The print is then put in a tray of developer (standard or home made from plants..), given a soapy wash to remove the vaseline, then fixed.
I enjoyed seeing the results, which were crisp prints in some cases, unexpected at times and blobby abstract shapes in some cases where too much vaseline was used. Both groups were open to experimenting and made lovely work.
I look forward to heading back to the Garden in May for some sessions with participants that will likely include some cyanotypes, lumen prints, phytograms and possibly some home made inks.