Busy Summer

Along with the heatwave I have a wave of interesting projects on the go.

“Felixstowe’s Changing Faces” will be an exhibition in collaboration with Felixstowe Museum. It is my pleasure to recreate some of their archive of historic photos, in the modern day. So far I have shot dock workers, wild swimmers and ice-cream vendors. It has been mind-blowing to contemplate the past verses the present within the frame of my old medium format film camera. I have issued local call-outs for participation and have had generous responses from the local community. I can’t wait to tell you all about the experience, at the exhibition Launch Night when I will be giving an Artist’s Talk on 18/9/26. Contact me below if you would like to attend.

Research at the museum with David and Mark

Shooting with thanks to Rags, Kevin and James at the docks

Talking of talks, I gave a talk to an audience of about 80 people at the Blackheath Arts Society last week. It was well received, and it really helped me crystallise my thoughts on what I do, and why I do it. Expanding from photography into other art forms, I have often found myself feeling somewhere between a crazy artist and a mad scientist! But now I see the links and it makes sense. I should take a leaf out of my own book and embrace the danger as I stretch out of my comfort zones!

My passion for the historic Cyanotype process is self-evident, and in August there is a unique opportunity to study on an in-depth course with me. We’ll cover mixing , coating, using plants, using negatives, botanical toners, trouble shooting…

Course info here

BOOK HERE

Keep an eye out on my Workshops page and instagram/facebook for 4 free workshops I have coming upon 14, 19, 28, 31 August at Christchurch Community Garden in Greenwich. We will be creating art with natural materials in this beautiful setting.

Contact me below if require any details.

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Trees & Rivers

events, photography, photography workshops

Here’s a quick update. I’m delighted to be taking part in the Urban Tree Festival. I am exhibiting a new life-size tree cyanotype print at their Urban Forest exhibition. See flyer below. I am also running a workshop on Fri 15 May, using tree branches, leaves and sunshine (fingers crossed!) to make blueprints tickets are £20 with half going to the festival cause.

That other regular theme “river” crops up in our ‘work-in-progress’ group show at the Gate Darkroom. We are right beside the Thames at Thameside Studios, so it’s no surprise that we think about the river!. This exhibition is a half-way stop before our bigger show later this year. I am showing some experimental test prints taken underwater on 35mm film. My title is “Flood” and I hope to express the frenetic moments when the Thames might/will burst it banks as a result of sea level rise and climate change.

I’ve been keen to develop my skills in working with natural materials this year.

I made this butterfly from willow and dyed willow

my first floor mosaic in progress, using stone and marble, with a tiled sea to come

I also have great news of a photography commission coming that involves a series of portraits in conjunction with a museum.

Eco Photo Summer School +

photography workshops, Uncategorized

Well it has been workshops galore of late ! And why not? Photography and techniques should be out there amongst the people and not just lurking online.

Working with Suffolk Wildlife Trust was an absolute pleasure. Along with SmellSense Charity I created a series of walks and cyanotype sessions responding to the unique landscape of the Carlton Marshes.

I also an enjoyed running a smartphone workshop for a legal firm in the City. They learned several tips and tricks, and hopefully I improved their awareness of ‘light’ and how their phones respond to it.

Big news, and just out, is my long-awaited Eco Photography Summer School!

Friday afternoons, August so the sun should be out! Details and booking here !

Taking place across two green oases in South East London – we will be having lots of fun experimenting with sustainable photography processes! Various types of cyanotype and botanical toners, Anthotypes, prints on fabric and more! If you want to use digital negatives (probably the final session) contact me to arrange. Suitable for beginners to advanced.

Sensory Cyanotypes

eco photography, Environment, photography workshops

I’ve always been interested in the overlap between the senses – sight, hearing, smell… . Many years ago I wrote a dissertation about Synaesthesia in Theatre and TV. I knew as a director that if you bombard the eyes with red for example, you will get a visceral response from your audience. I’ve always believed there are subliminal connections between for example colour and sound. For me a Middle C note is royal blue and always has been. After all, light and sound are just different types of waves, and colours and pitches are different frequencies.

When I work with ultraviolet light in my cyanotype printing I am very aware that the optimal frequency is 365nm. I can see the effects of sun, and all manner of clouds of the final print – I work with the weather to get the precise results I am after … I can control contrast and colour by harnessing the elements in the same way a farmer does to maximise his yield. This week I have noticed that my freckles start forming when UV breaches a certain point, I can literally feel them forming on my skin – no need for a light meter!

And that brings me to the connection between Earth, Body and Spirit, one that I fear we are losing in today’s concrete jungles. I’ve worked with city kids who have never touched a growing plant and don’t know where supermarket veg comes from beyond the plastic tray. When I lost my senses of smell and taste for years after Covid, the world felt a very 2-dimensional place. I felt detached, like I was living in a simulation of reality, a character in a computer game. When my senses returned I felt euphoric, and determined to never take these senses for granted again. I found out about the charity Fifth Sense who help people with smell/taste disorders and I did their training and now volunteer for them, to help raise awareness.

On the day that my sense of smell returned I happened to be picking rosemary at the John Evelyn Garden in Deptford. So this is where we are running an informal workshop on Fri 16 May 2025 2.30-4pm. Suitable for anyone wanting to explore the senses and nature, and to get hands-on with plants and make a cyanotype print with sunlight. We will be continuing the discussions of sensory perception then. Details on how to book a free place here

Public Art Commission

art

Since the pandemic everyone wants outdoor work! This job isn’t photography but it’s a bit like working with pixels in photoshop!

Work has begun on a huge mosaic for an exterior wall in Deptford Landings, to mark the Grand Surrey Canal that once ran through the site.

At first my design went through several incarnations, after discussions with the architects and builders. A log and tile structure, then a huge wave running along the building, then finally we went with my idea of a Birds Eye view showing different elements of the area through time.

I am making the mosaic onto 3 panels. Hundreds of tiles being shaped and collaged to create abstract landmasses and geographical features inspired by old maps I have examined and local knowledge.

I’m using parts from chipped tiles , end of lines, charity shops, inherited porcelain, and some gorgeous blue and beige tiles bought from local suppliers – N&C tiles and London Mosaics. Most of the materials are recycled or natural (stones).

It’s been a lot of heavy work and hours making this mosaic. Cold, fumey, sticky – but fun! Can’t wait to see the final result on the wall soon.

The Plague Doctor Returns!

events

Having finished my “Deep Trouble” exhibition of about 20 framed Cyanotypes, when it came to Deptford X 2023 I wanted to do a single artwork. The theme this year is looking back on 25yrs of the festival. I’ve participated several times, but my standout year was 2021. We had just came out of lockdowns , everything had to be outdoors or online.

I made a big cyanotype collage, and on it I painted a Plague Doctor figure overlooking the High Street. I had interesting conversations with people about local history and about pandemics. My online scripted Zoom ‘happening’ going back in time with an actor really felt like it was breaking new ground.

Learning Curve

This year instead of a Cyanotype collage, I wanted to use a collage of photos of Deptford taken over the last 25yrs. That is where I made mistake number one! I had these images in my head, memories, but I had to find them in my archives! It took days to do this.

There was a mixture of darkroom prints, iphone photos etc to source. As I was scrolling my vast library it was a bit like seeing your “life flashing before your eyes”. (Similar to BeReal which I am very into. ) What is life, if it isn’t a series of photographic images in your memory? It is no coincidence that my background is in TV, the collage felt a bit like 24 frames per second , but laid out on a flat plane. However, glued down on a recycled piece of cardboard the images were underwhelming.

After the draining process of collating my very meaningful images I had lost energy to paint the Plague Doctor figure on top! But Deptford X is playful, and allows you to experiment, so I got deliberately sloppy with the paint.

I was fed up with painting the black colourless figure! Then I ate some custard and thought that would be a good colour for his ‘all seeing’ eye “. From there on it started to look like a GCSE art creation… but I’m ok with that. I know full well that if I had immaculately framed my stunning photos individually, they would have have had a very different impact. Instead, they are butted up against each other and give the impression of haphazard, slightly messy, clashing, loveable Deptford, The punky DIY assemblage also suited Overdrive music studios, where my piece hangs.

Public reaction has been fascinating so far. I will report back on that later. I am learning loads.

Catch it on 23, 24, 30th Sept & 1st Oct 12-10pm at a unit 7 Resolution way opposite Deptford station. Details here

Also my free drawing workshop at Pepys Hub should be fun!

In Deep Trouble

events

I’ve been studying the recent record temperatures of oceans, and all the implications. The extinction of species, the new species found in the deeps and immediately threatened by deep sea mining. Those creatures look otherworldly, and unbelievable.

These thoughts put surreal images into my head, and from there into Cyanotypes. Exhibition “Deep Trouble” opens next week, in the friendly gallery at Woolwich Front Room in the town centre.

I’m going to bed tonight thinking what I can do with a photo I took of a stingray. Those things have human-like faces!

Heads up to my blog readers, that there will be a workshop (in Cyanotype and Anthotype) with booking opening at 10pm on 1st Aug. Book here

Also I’m there to chat to people about my work on Friday, come and say hi.

Let There Be Light!

Environment, events

2023 has got off to a bright start! I’ve been working on the Light The Way Festival for Hive Curates. I’ve run workshops with local residents – we’ve been on Nature walks along the Ridgeway, the Orchard, and the canals in Thamesmead. Then we made cyanotypes which will be scanned and incorporated into the “Nature Through A New Lens” installation.

I’m also presenting my own piece “Dark Path”. This is a recycled version of my previous “Dark Alley” work, with updates made to the vandalised boxes, and some faces from the workshops featured in my unique lightcrates. I think I did pretty well snapping the participants during our tea break. I love the site I’ve been allocated on the Ridgeway, and I am scattering the boxes there so that they are more site specific. As you can see from the header picture it is currently drenched in blossom. I hope to involve some plants and UV lights too! Its been quite intense work – lots of late night soldering and splinters.

Winter can be such a depressing month, especially the cold dark days in London. I am delighted to take part in “Light the Way”, getting people out in Nature for a long walk, its the best medicine! Light festivals seem to replacing things like Bonfire Nights, we really need safe outdoor events so people can socialise.

Similarly, I have been helping out with Pepys Warm Welcomes in Deptford. I had to drink a lot of wine (kidding) to provide enough bottles for people to recycle into lamps with me! The lamps came out so well. Its a great idea to get people in one centre to save money on their own heating bills. So many wins for the environment all round! Next week I’ll be running a casual “painting to music” session, and Paul and I will be performing some of my songs unplugged !

I hope to see you at some of these free events.

The Eco Photo Project

eco photography, photography workshops

This year I have been perfecting certain formulae and techniques of sustainable photography. Traditional photography can contain toxic materials and be heavy on the use of water and electricity. I wanted to share my findings with local artists and photographers (of all levels) and to open up discussions of climate and Nature. Thanks to a grant from Bexley Three Rivers and Arts Council England I was able to do that. Over July and August we made sunprints, plant emulsions, and a photowalk in the woods.

Click here to see full gallery of work

I feel there is a real gap for summer activities in London, especially after the isolating lockdowns. Many clubs and classes shut down completely for summer. This became a bit of a ‘summer camp’ and was a lot of fun. It was full of moments of magic, discovery and laughter. Everyone said, they had never done anything like this before, and that was very rewarding for me as I strive to be original.

I’d like to say a massive thanks to all the enthusiastic participants, and to the helpful organisers, to the Belvedere Centre, and my assistants Tabby and Lewis.

I took this photo of the dry ferns when I was doing a reccee for our PhotoWalk day. It was the peak of the heatwave and drought. I could see smoke and was told there were firefighters dealing with a forest fire in the woods. I got out fast.

Seeing evidence like this in nature, plants struggling for survival, and human litter around the edges, we were able to discuss the threats to the green environment.

Workshops Galore

photography workshops

This dropped out of my fortune cookie and reminded me of a very important point. We learn most about the world by interacting with others. It’s no surprise to me that war and climate change came hot-on-the-heels of lockdown isolation, when we were detached from the lives and minds of others.

Until now I’ve not enjoyed ‘teaching’. My mum tried to make me follow in her footsteps and become a teacher. She taught PE, and I lacked the genes for that. I rebelled, and grew up thinking “those who can’t do, teach”.

With age comes wisdom. As I get older I have an urge to pass on knowledge. I have been able to educate people about Nature and Climate Change in the last few years and that gives me huge satisfaction. Added to that, income from workshops has been a great way to keep afloat during lockdowns and beyond. After all, I see my work as ‘experimental’ and experiments are not ‘commercial.’

This photo is from a drop-in workshop I held for Thamesmead Global Festival. The kids were ‘wowed’ by the process, and wanted to know “why” the paper turned blue.

I thoroughly enjoyed running a workshop in my natural habitat at the Gate Darkroom, I am doing another one on Thurs 29th Sept. I will post details on Facebook first, so keep an eye out.

My Cyanotype with Nature workshop at Birchmere Community Garden was a fantastic day I will never forget. More on that later. Big thanks to Bryan the gardening volunteer who joined in, and we all got talking about crucial issues of soil, specific plants and growing patterns.

Myself, Malcolm and Shiroma (working as Green Space Art Collective) recreated the old May Day traditions at John Evelyn Garden. It was great to get everyone celebrating Nature with Art workshops, Music and a history walk.

After giving a talk to a large audience in Winchester about Experimental Photography, I was asked back to do a workshop. This was an amazing day with accomplished photographers in an owl sanctuary. Fantastic.

I’m currently running an Eco Photography Project for Three Rivers Bexley, including 3 days working with local residents: on Cyanotypes, a photowalk in the woods, and finally Anthotypes.

The entreprenuer in me should have known that all those online workshops I led would lead to more demand for workshops, and less time spent on my own artistic output. This trend continues. With September exhibitions approaching I am very busy indeed.

Sarah Garrod

Photographer, Multi-disciplinary Artist

Author: SG