I make cyanotype prints of native plants here in Illinois. I use plant materials taken from my garden, where we’ve planted with native plants for more than 20 years thanks to Art the Wildflower Gardener, who died many years ago. We chanced upon him at a home and garden show not long after we had moved to the suburbs from downtown Chicago. Art Gara helped us learn about the benefits of Illinois native plants, the way they supported local bugs, birds, butterflies and more, the huge variety of plants available and the need to plant in succession so that something was in bloom throughout the growing season. He was a huge influence on me in my development as an artist.

I am just beginning to sell my cyanotype prints, stay tuned for more information on how to order one. I’m always open to making specific prints of favorite plants, too, so stay tuned for a mechanism for putting in a custom order. Understand that I do the majority of my printmaking during the growing season, as I prefer to work with freshly cut materials grown in my own garden and to use the sun to provide the uv light needed to create the print. I can, on occasion, work with dried items, and am experimenting with using an indoor uv light for some types of prints. I’ll update as I make progress on my experiments.