The Shape of Summer with Brent Martin & Eric William Carroll
The Shape of Summer: Wildflower Walk and Site-Specific Cyanotypes with Brent Martin & Eric William Carroll
Saturday, July 22nd, 10 am - 4 pm @ Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center in Franklin, NC
Hosted by: The Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy
Cost: $50 (scholarships are available)
Class size: 15 students
Brent Martin will lead participants in a midsummer wildflower walk on the Little Tennessee River in the Cowee National Historic District. This easy walk will allow participants to collect a wide variety of plants and flowering parts for the creation of their own cyanotype, as well as learn about the incredible plant diversity in the Little Tennessee Watershed.
Following the wildflower walk, we'll meet at the Cowee School where participants will be introduced to the cyanotype process by artist Eric William Carroll. Together we'll create photograms (cameraless photographs) based on the specimens collected during the walk. Participants will be encouraged to creatively illuminate their clippings in multiple ways, showcasing the broad range of interpretations each plant can have. Some of the work created during the workshop will be displayed at the Bascom: Center for Visual Arts in an exhibition this fall. No experience is necessary and this workshop is appropriate for ages 10+. All materials will be provided.
Eric William Carroll’s work on photography, science, and nature explores the differences in how we experience, organize, and represent the world. Carroll’s work has been shown widely and has been included in exhibitions at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Aperture Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Pier 24 Photography, among others. Carroll has participated in residencies with the MacDowell Colony, Rayko Photo Center and the Blacklock Nature Sanctuary, and was the winner of the 2012 Baum Award for Emerging Photographers. Born and raised in the Midwest, Carroll is currently based in Asheville, North Carolina where he helped co-found the Kinship Photography Collective.
Brent Martin is the Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy and co-owner of Alarka Institute and Expeditions, a cultural and natural history based business offering a wide selection of outdoor experiences and workshops. He has worked in phconservation for over thirty years, and is also a folk artist, writer, and photographer. His most recent book, George Masa's Wild Vision: A Japanese Immigrant Imagines Western North Carolina, explores the photographic career of George Masa and his photographic impact on southern Appalachian conservation.