In this hands-on workshop, you will use a sun-sensitive tint to create deep blue prints using plants, leaves, grasses, and flowers. You’ll learn how to mix the cyanotype solution, tint your own paper, and then create a botanical collage that will develop in the sunshine.
Students will be guided in picking specimens at the Arboretum, and are welcome to bring some botanicals to class from your own garden as well. Please dress for painting, a short walk, and getting wet.
This program meets in person at the Arboretum.
In the event of inclement weather, the class will move indoors and shift to creating cyanotype postcards using UV resin light boxes. Participants will learn the same core techniques and still leave with a finished set of unique, nature-inspired prints.
All experience levels are welcome.
Instructor: Kate Donley, artist and teacher
Age: 16 and older
Course number: A041
Instructor
Kate Donley, artist and educator, Kate’s Velvet Acorn
As an artist, Kate Donley was a late bloomer. After decades as a home gardener, her lifetime interest in nature blossomed in the botanical arts. Donley works in mixed media sculpture, in particular crepe paper, silk, thread, and wire. She captures the spirit of botanicals by playfully manipulating her subjects. She may alter the size of an insect to show the perspective of a giant ant, or communicate the spikiness of a leaf with prickly wire. Whimsical landscapes and enchanted flowers flow from this creative process. Donley is inspired by natural spaces in the Chicago region and by her garden in Oak Lawn, Illinois, where she is a librarian.
What to Know
This program meets indoors and outdoors. Check the forecast and dress for the weather.
This program is open to all experience levels.
Please dress for painting, a short walk, and getting wet.
See Education Program Policies for information about cancellations, refunds, and scholarships.
Program Schedule
Saturday, July 11, 2026, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Thornhill Picnic Shelter (parking lot P-21), West Side
