Cyanotype: Printing with Sunshine!

Thin Ice Press is running a cyanotype workshop on Monday 31 August, from 11:00 to 13:00, as part of the August Bank Holiday. It's a morning session, so you'll be done by lunchtime and still have the rest of your long weekend to yourself.

Cyanotype is one of those old-school photographic processes that works with sunlight rather than a darkroom. The prints come out in a deep, distinctive indigo blue, and the whole thing is about what you place on the paper to block the light. You'll be experimenting with botanicals, fabrics and cut-outs, and you can also work with photographic negatives to get a proper image. The beauty of it is that you don't need any previous experience to get something decent on the page, and all the equipment is provided on the day.

Thin Ice Press, known as the York Centre for Print, runs a broad programme of traditional printing workshops alongside memberships, equipment hire, events and exhibition space. Their courses cover a wide range of printmaking and bookbinding techniques — letterpress, linocut, risograph, drypoint, bookbinding and the use of wood and metal type — and the centre is directed by Professor Helen Smith. This particular session is a standalone workshop, so it's an easy way to try something new without committing to a longer course.

The workshop runs from 11:00 to 13:00 on Monday 31 August at Thin Ice Press, the York Centre for Print, and costs £40.