Cyanotype to Concertina: Building a Folded Sequence

Course Code: 26FPM019I

This one-day, in-person workshop takes place at CBA on  Saturday, October 10th, 11AM to 5PM ET

• Saturday, October 10th, 11AM to 5PM ET

Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on September 27 at 11:59 pm.

About the Workshop:

This in-person class at Center for Book Arts is taught by instructor Aindreas Scholz.

Working from cyanotype’s nineteenth-century history and Anna Atkins’s pioneering botanical books, participants will create a sequence of cyanotype prints and transform them into a concertina book in this one-day workshop. The workshop approaches the fold not only as a binding structure, but as a way of creating rhythm, connection and narrative across photographic images.

Participants will work with prepared papers, plant matter, found objects and transparent materials, using sunlight or UV exposure according to the conditions on the day. The workshop will also introduce climate-adapted cyanotype: an approach in which the distilled or deionised water traditionally used to prepare cyanotype chemistry is replaced, where appropriate, by harvested rainwater, seawater or other site-specific bodies of water, allowing environmental conditions to become physically present within the print.

Connected to the instructor’s research project, The Ecological Wetroom™, cyanotype washwater produced during the session will be collected and made visible as a material byproduct rather than treated as an invisible waste stream. A simple DIY filtration process will be demonstrated as a research and educational tool.

No previous cyanotype or bookbinding experience is required.

Required Materials:

• Pencil & Eraser

• Apron or clothes suitable for a wet workshop

• Craft knife or blade, if you already own one

• Bone folder, if you already own one

Optional Materials:

• Pressed flowers, leaves, grasses, or other small flat botanical materials

• Additional papers you would like to experiment with for cyanotype, provided these are suitable for wet processing and can withstand washing and drying.

• Flat found objects, paper cut-outs, or simple transparencies for image-making

• Sketchbook or notebook for planning sequences

• Smartphone or camera for documenting the process

All other materials will be provided by the Center for Book Arts at no additional cost.

About the Instructor

Aindreas Scholz is a German-Irish photographer, educator and practice-led PhD researcher based in London, UK. His work explores cameraless photography through ecological, experimental and book-based practices, drawing on the legacy of Anna Atkins and nineteenth-century photographic processes. Working primarily with climate-adapted cyanotype, lumen and cyanolumen, he investigates the relationships between photography, water, plants, material histories and environmental responsibility. His artist's books extend the photographic print into sculptural forms, including concertina books that unfold as continuous landscapes. Scholz has exhibited and facilitated workshops internationally with museums, galleries, festivals and educational organisations, and his research has been supported by Arts Council England, the Paul Mellon Centre and the Peter E. Palmquist Memorial Fund. At the Centre for Book Arts, he leads From Cyanotype to Concertina, introducing participants to cameraless photography and the transformation of photographic prints into handmade artist's books.

All images courtesy of the instructor unless otherwise noted.