“Lavande” by Émilie Léger
Country: Montréal, Canada
Parts used: Petals from lavender petals; leaves from spinach and basil; buds from blue butterfly pea
Amount: 4 spinach leaves, 4 basil leaves, 4 lavender buds, a dozen blue butterfly pea buds
Extracted by: Mortar and pestle
Thinner: Tap water
Application: Brushing with paint brush and sponge
Layers: 2
Substrate: Watercolour paper
Created with: Photogram of lavender petals and leaves
Exposure: 8 hours, August, summer 2023
Contrast: ✿✿ (Medium)
Challenges or observations: I used lavender, basil and blue butterfly pea for this anthotype experiment, because they are ingredients I often use in herbal teas and I wished to try them as anthotype elements. I mixed them with spinach. I had an idea that the result might be quite quick because I did use spinach in previous experiments, but didn’t expect the result to be so contrasted in only 8 hours. I also tried for the first time brushing the emulsion with both paint brush and sponge for a painterly effect. For these reasons, it is one of my most favorite anthotype experiments.
See gallery: AlternativePhotography.com/emilie-leger/
Instagram: @emilie.leger.art
Facebook: facebook.com/ArtEmilieLeger
Website: emilieleger.ca
Mix of Lavender (Lavandula), Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), Blue butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) and Basil (Ocimum basilicum) anthotype by Émilie Léger
This anthotype is part of World Anthotype Day
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:
Volume 1 is the first book in the series:
Volume 1 contains 60 unique anthotype emulsions from 103 artists taking part from 31 countries.
Anthotype Emulsions, Volume 1 – The collective research from photographers on World Anthotype Day 2022
Volume 2 is the second book:
Volume 2 contains 100 unique anthotype emulsions from 139 artists taking part from 31 countries.
Anthotype Emulsions, Volume 2 – The collective research from photographers on World Anthotype Day 2023
If you want to learn more about making anthotypes there is also the "how-to" book:
Make prints using plants - an environmentally safe process!The most comprehensive resource on Anthotypes.
Anthotypes – Explore the darkroom in your garden and make photographs using plants
Rated 9,8 - based on 224 votes
If you are already practising anthotype printing, we suggest making notes to document and learn:
50 pre-defined pages for you to document your anthotype process.
Anthotype notes – Document your anthotype process
Rated 10 - based on 2 votes
