Balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) anthotype by Diane Jaquith

“Summer Diary” by Diane Jaquith
Country: Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
Parts used: Petals
Amount: About 12 flowers per print
Extracted by: Mini juicer
Thinner: Distilled water
Application: Brushing

Layers: 4 layers
Substrate: Watercolour paper
Created with: Photogram of dried plants: daylily blossom, nasturtium leaves, and peony leaves
Exposure: 8 days, late July–early August, summer 2023
Contrast: ✿✿ (Medium)
Challenges or observations: The blue-violet petals create a beautiful blue emulsion when mixed with a bit of distilled water.
Additional information: The roots and stems of this plant can be poisonous to animals but the blooms are not. After picking and crushing the flowers, I added a tiny amount of distilled water to create a liquid; the crushed flowers and liquid were squeezed into a bowl through a piece of cheesecloth. I created and painted the emulsion all on the same day, coating the paper four times until it was a light blue color. The dried plants were placed over the emulsion, with a thin piece of plexiglass on top and foam core on the bottom, then clamped tightly and left outdoors. When the background appeared near-white, I decided that the print was complete.
Instagram: @dianejaquith

World Anthotype Day was started by AlternativePhotography.com in 2022. In August anthotype artists all over the world celebrate the anthotype process and send in their entries. We add them here to the database and create a reference book for each year. The purpose of the day is to build a large resource where artist can learn which pigmenets and plants that work and draw inspiration from other artists' work. The reference books can be found here: