Celebrate the sunny season and learn a new skill with a special cyanotype workshop series from artist Cat Hart! Join us on Saturday afternoons on June 27th, July 11th, and July 25th to learn the art of cyanotype printing, ahead of Cat’s upcoming installation in the Cannery REcollections Artist Corner.
Workshop Description
The workshops will offer opportunities to interact with real Cannery artifacts, share the stories of your own touchstone objects, and experience a variety of eco-friendly printmaking methods using the power of the sun, these limited workshops will broaden the ways that we understand the connections between objects, memories, and storytelling through art.
All attendees will get to take home their own one-of-a-kind prints at the end of the workshop to commemorate the experience. Attend an individual workshop, or build on your experience by joining all three workshops!
Recommended for visitors 18+.
Limited spots available.
Reserve Your Spots Here.
About Cat Hart
Cat Hart (they/them) is an artist living on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səlil̓wətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations, also known as Vancouver, British Columbia. A settler originally from the UK, they have called these lands home for the last 20 years. Cat is interested in working with local materials and eco-friendly processes to explore local histories and our relationship to nature and the ecologies we share.
Contact Cat at cathartart@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathartart/
Website: cathartart.com
About cyanotype printing
Cyanotype is a 180-year-old image development process that uses sunlight to create a picture or art print. The chemistry is light-sensitive and turns blue when it comes in contact with UV from the sun. Prints are most often created by placing a selected object (or objects) on pre-treated paper and leaving them to develop in the sun.
The blue and white prints might look familiar- this was the process used to make ‘blueprints’ or technical drawings of buildings. But cyanotypes have always been used to make art- Anna Atkins, was the first to publish a book illustrated with photographic images in her collection of cyanotype prints of British algae in 1841.
Details
Reserve Your Spot:
$25 each workshop, Limited tickets: 20 tickets per workshop
Adults 18+
Workshops will held at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site, 12138 Fourth Ave., Richmond, BC, V7E 3J1.
Session 1: Saturday, June 27, 2026, 1:00-3:00pm Reserve Your Spot
- Topic: Printing with Cannery Artifacts
Experiment with printing using a variety of the Cannery’s artifacts and educational objects related to the fishing and canning industries. Hold history in your hands with guided object handling from Cannery Collections staff, hear the history, stories, and memories that the objects hold, and commemorate them in turn in a unique artistic experience. Using light-sensitive chemistry and the power of the sun, you can capture a blue and white silhouette of objects in the Cannery collections.
Session includes a paper treatment demo from Cat Hart, an “object encounter” presentation sharing items from the Cannery’s collections storage, and interactive workshop time to create your own cyanotype prints.
Session 2: Saturday, July 11, 2026, 1:00-3:00pm Reserve Your Spot
- Topic: Honouring Touchstone Objects
The second workshop session focuses on personal objects as touchstones that connect us to people, places, and moments in time. Highlight the importance of your own cherished objects, collection items, souvenirs, and more with a lasting art print that honours what they mean to you. Combine your personal touchstones with Cannery objects to create a souvenir of your own experience. Share how your object(s) are sources of connection for you, and hear from others what their objects mean to them.
When choosing personal objects to bring, think about the kind of shadows or silhouettes they would make. Lace, knitting, or clothing that lets light through the weave work well. Jewellery, keys, and objects with detailed edges are great, as well as pressed flowers or feathers.
Session includes printmaking experiences using the personal items provided by attendees with Cannery collections objects available for additional inspiration, a storytelling activity providing opportunities to share your objects or connect personally to the Cannery’s artifacts, and guided mentorship from Cat Hart on how to highlight the meaning behind your personal belongings.
Session 3: Saturday, July 25, 2026, 1:00-3:00pm Reserve Your Spot
- Topic: Toning with Tea Leaves
Wrap up our workshop series with a session dedicated to cyanotype toning. Bring back your prints from previous sessions, create new pieces, and experiment with colour and tone using a variety of teas with historical significance to BC’s West Coast fishing and canning communities. Learn how tea, and the objects associated with making and drinking it, can be a touchstone for stories of connection, discrimination, community, and resilience through the stories of fishermen and Cannery workers from Steveston and beyond. Cyanotype prints are blue and white, but the chemicals in plants brewed into a tea can change that blue to a different colour depending on the plant used.
Session includes cyanotype toning lesson from Cat Hart, a guided presentation on the significance of tea to BC fishing and canning communities, and plenty of opportunities to experiment with the toning properties of a range of local and international tea varieties.
