Cyanotype is one of photography's oldest processes — invented in 1842, still made by hand today. This November, Northampton artist Nikki Gardner is teaching it in two hands-on workshops at Northampton Center for the Arts.

Using iron-based chemistry and UV light, you'll create original blue-and-white prints on fabric and paper, arrange botanicals and found objects into compositions, and leave with a finished piece of art. No camera, no prior experience, and no artistic background required.

On November 1, you'll print an original design on a canvas tote bag. On November 15, you'll create a cyanotype print on watercolor paper and fold it into a handmade zine. All materials are included.

About the instructor: Nikki Gardner is a Northampton-based photographer, visual artist, and educator whose practice spans film, digital photography, and historic alternative processes including cyanotype and lumen printing. Her cyanotype work was featured in her spring 2026 solo exhibition What Was Held at the Northampton Center for the Arts, and her exhibition history includes the Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography, the Washington County Arts Council, and The Paseo.

Gardner has been teaching photography in various forms for nearly a decade. She led a STEM-focused cyanotype workshop at The Paseo in 2017, has mentored students locally in both darkroom and digital photography, and has developed and taught online photography courses and workshops reaching students beyond the Pioneer Valley. She is a current AMP It Up! member at Northampton Center for the Arts and a graduate of the Elevate Accelerator at The Sphere Northampton. She also completed an artist entrepreneurship certification through MIT online earlier this year. 

Her teaching approach centers on hands-on making, process over perfection, and accessibility — rooted in the belief that historic photographic processes belong to everyone, not just those with formal art training.