An event hosted by the Swaner Preserve EcoCenter and Kimball Art Center will expose participants to the sun and the Great Salt Lake. The nonprofits will present a workshop called “Sketches of the Great Salt Lake: Cyanotype Exploration,” which will be guided by Utah-based artist Alexandra Fu ller, from 1-3 p.m. on March 7 at the lake.  Registrants will create art inspired by the surroundings, according to Hunter Klingensmith, Swaner Preserve EcoCenter’s director of visitor experience and exhibits. “I believe we’ll have a chance for everyone to create a piece of art they can take home,” she said. “Then we’ll do a collective art piece.” The works will be created through a cyanotype process, which was invented in 1842 by Sir John Herschel and utilized by Fuller. It creates prints by exposing paper or fabric coated with light-sensitive iron salts and found objects to sunlight. “The goal is for us to get out to the lake or near the lake, beyond the lakebed, and collect natural materials, which can be anything,” Klingensmith said. “Often on the lakebed you find bird bones and pieces, but there are also a ton of other natural materials, salt, gypsum crystals, sticks, rocks and grass, which are all part of the lake and the surrounding lake area.” Participants will then take these objects back to a kiosk, where they will create the cyanotypes. “We’ll have a tent set up, so we’ll have some shade as needed until we expose the pieces to sunlight,” Klingensmith said. Cyanotypes are kind like a science experiments, said Alex Regenold, Kimball Art Center’s director of marketing and communications. The “Life on the Edge” exhibit, which examines extreme environments in Earth, is one of the inspirations for the nonprofit’s partnership with the Kimball Art Center for a March 7 workshop at the Great Salt Lake. Credit: Photo courtesy of Ross Downard “You see how the sun interacts with the different chemicals,” she said. “This is an opportunity to experiment and play with that and see the chemical process take place.” The workshop is inspired by the Kimball Art Center’s two exhibits, “Returning to Wonder” and “All Sketches Wish to Be Real,” and the Swaner Preserve EcoCenter’s exhibit, “Life on the Edge.”  “We have two concurrent exhibits, and cyanotypes created by Alexandra are on display in ‘All Sketches Wish to Be Real,’ which features all Utah artists,” Regenold said. “I think the tie to Utah and our natural scenery is so present in her work in both exhibitions. So to have her lead a workshop and for us to partner with the Swaner is such an amazing opportunity.” The exhibit, which shows through March 8, is based on a verse from Tomas Tranströmer’s poem, ‘The Blue House,’ which is about alternate and unexplored realities.  “(The workshop) also ties well with ‘Returning to Wonder’ because that exhibit celebrates nature,” Regenold said. “Alexandra has pieces in both shows, so, the tie to our own environment is so strong.” Environment is also the theme of the Swaner exhibit, which is on display through May 10, Klingensmith said. “‘Life on the Edge’ explores extreme environments on Earth and how they help us understand possibilities of life in outer space, and the Great Salt Lake is actually a place where that work is taking place,” she said.  Dr. Bonnie Baxter of Westminster University leads the study of the lake’s halophiles — salt-tolerant bacteria — and microbial diversity, Klingensmith said. “So when we talked about the artists that the Kimball Art Center showcases in its exhibits, like Alexandra Fuller, who has done a lot of work around the Great Salt Lake with these cyanotypes, we felt like this could be a cool overlap,” she said. The idea for the nonprofits to collaborate stems from Heather Stamenov and Wesley Acastre, the Kimball Art Center’s respective director of education and outreach and curatorial specialist, Klingensmith said. “They said they had these new exhibits that are all about nature and wonder and play, and that felt like a good crossover with Swaner,” she said. “At Swaner, we feel the more we can collaborate with other organizations, the more people we can reach and the more fun we can have.” Timing also played an important role, Klingensmith said. “We were wrapping up our strategic planning process and talking about creative ways to create nature-connection through play,” she said. Regenold believes the March 7 event will provide a new level of engagement for those who are used to participating in Kimball Art Center workshops. The Great Salt Lake sets the scene for the “Sketches of the Great Salt Lake: Cyanotype Exploration” workshop on March 7. The event, which is made possible by a partnership between the Kimball Art Center and Swaner Preserve EcoCenter, will include exploration, discussions and cyanotype creating. Credit: Park Record file photo by David Jackson “When people join workshops at the Kimball they may paint or they may work with clay or something traditional,” she said. “So I think this is such a great opportunity and a natural thing to do. We have such beautiful natural resources all around us, and (that) offers so much room for imagination and play. I love workshops like this because some who may feel they can’t paint or draw still love being outside and being inspired by their surroundings.” Registrants should come dressed for the elements, according to Klingensmith. “Wear layers, and we will also likely walk onto the lakebed,” she said. “So people should wear shoes that they don’t mind getting muddy or dirty because the lake will leave a lot of gunk on your shoes. And the Swaner EcoCenter will also offer muck boots for people to borrow.” All art supplies will be provided by the EcoCenter and Kimball Art Center, Klingensmith said.  “We also encourage people to bring other things that will help them enjoy nature through art — a nature journal, watercolors or pencils sketchpads — during some possible downtime,” she said. Carpooling will also be available, Klingensmith said. “We will have at least one vehicle, but we’ll email all the registrants to see how many people are interested in carpooling,” she said. “We will also see if other people would like to carpool amongst themselves.”  ‘Sketches of the Great Salt Lake: Cyanotype Exploration’ with Utah-based artist Alexandra Fuller When: 1-3 p.m. on March 7, Where: Great Salt Lake Cost: $40 Registration: kimballartcenter.org/events Web: kimballartcenter.org and extension.usu.edu/swaner The post Kimball Art Center and Swaner Preserve EcoCenter workshop builds bridges between art and nature appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less