A recent and successful cyanotype workshop, hosted by The New Carnival Company (NCC), resulted in some beautiful artwork being produced by 14 local ladies.
The group collected a variety of flowers and other natural materials from the nearby riverbank event site, before arranging them on silk, cotton or paper to create unique designs using the cyanotype photographic printing process.
The artwork created will be displayed at NCC’s ‘All Along the Riverbank’ event in May.
During 3 sessions held at Alverstone Old School Hall, small pieces were made into bunting, along with larger artworks to display on the trail.
Workshop participant, Mona-Lisa Cooke from Ryde, said:
“It has been fantastic to learn the whole cyanotype process and meet like-minded people who are both creative, and appreciate the biodiversity of this Island. The NCC team paced the workshops very well, and watching everyone’s creativity develop between the first experiments and final pieces has been brilliant.”
The group also printed words and used stencils of animals that can be found along the riverbank.
NCC’s experienced carnival arts development worker Hannah Ray led the workshops. She said:
“The whole group was lovely to work with and we had a lot of fun during the process. When cyanotype printing, it’s hard to predict exactly what the results will be, but everyone produced some really great work while learning a new skill.”
All along the Riverbank is a free family-friendly arts and countryside festival taking place on May Day (Monday 6th May) from 11:00 to 16:00. Visitors can enjoy a range of fun crafts and activities, art installations, Morris dancing, folk music, storytelling, guided walks and refreshments while exploring the beautiful 2-mile stretch of cycle track next to the River Yar between Sandown and Newchurch.
The event is supported by partners within the East Wight Landscape Project called Down to the Coast.
Visit www.thenewcarnivalcompany.com for more information.
