Conjuring the Sun | Lumen Printing with Aleyah Austin

$50.00

Join artist Aleyah Austin for an intimate, half-day workshop exploring the camera-less photographic technique of lumen printing through the shapes and silhouettes of native plants. Held during opening weekend for Coordinates of Belonging, the 2026 summer solstice annual group exhibition.

Rooted in botany, the lumen process arose from the desire to document flora and fauna accurately, without having to sketch by hand. In the 1830s, William Henry Fox Talbot invented lumen printing by placing objects directly onto light-sensitive paper and exposing them to sunlight, making “photogenic drawings”. These images can be chemically fixed but are most vibrant immediately upon exposure and fade over time.

Beginning with a guided garden walk, together we will collect foliage, light, and shadow to create lumen prints under the sun. Purple, pink, brown and blue hues will arise from the surface emulsion’s reaction to plant matter and UV light. Participants will have the opportunity to fix their images and scan their immediate results. In addition to the natural elements available to us on site, participants are welcome to bring particular items or materials to incorporate into their photograms.

Participants will leave with multiple 11 × 14 inch lumen prints and have the option to keep their wooden ware board + glass + clamps set-up so they can continue making photograms after the workshop.

This workshop is designed for artists, gardeners, photographers, educators, and anyone interested in botany and alternative photographic processes.

Residency Includes:

Introduction to the lumen printing process
Guided Garden Walk with Chris Merritt
Hands-on lumen printing and documentation
Take-home photogram set-up
Light refreshments
$20 Workshop Admission
$30 Materials Kit
Day-of ticketed admission to Coordinates of Belonging

Details:

Date: July 11, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Capacity: Limited to 10 participants

Coordinates of Belonging is a group exhibition presented off-site. The residential setting is stewarded by neighbors who have transformed the cottage, grounds, and remaining farmstead into an artists and writers residency. COMPANION & Aleyah will be in touch with more location and attendance detail prior to the workshop.

Join artist Aleyah Austin for an intimate, half-day workshop exploring the camera-less photographic technique of lumen printing through the shapes and silhouettes of native plants. Held during opening weekend for Coordinates of Belonging, the 2026 summer solstice annual group exhibition.

Rooted in botany, the lumen process arose from the desire to document flora and fauna accurately, without having to sketch by hand. In the 1830s, William Henry Fox Talbot invented lumen printing by placing objects directly onto light-sensitive paper and exposing them to sunlight, making “photogenic drawings”. These images can be chemically fixed but are most vibrant immediately upon exposure and fade over time.

Beginning with a guided garden walk, together we will collect foliage, light, and shadow to create lumen prints under the sun. Purple, pink, brown and blue hues will arise from the surface emulsion’s reaction to plant matter and UV light. Participants will have the opportunity to fix their images and scan their immediate results. In addition to the natural elements available to us on site, participants are welcome to bring particular items or materials to incorporate into their photograms.

Participants will leave with multiple 11 × 14 inch lumen prints and have the option to keep their wooden ware board + glass + clamps set-up so they can continue making photograms after the workshop.

This workshop is designed for artists, gardeners, photographers, educators, and anyone interested in botany and alternative photographic processes.

Residency Includes:

Introduction to the lumen printing process
Guided Garden Walk with Chris Merritt
Hands-on lumen printing and documentation
Take-home photogram set-up
Light refreshments
$20 Workshop Admission
$30 Materials Kit
Day-of ticketed admission to Coordinates of Belonging

Details:

Date: July 11, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Capacity: Limited to 10 participants

Coordinates of Belonging is a group exhibition presented off-site. The residential setting is stewarded by neighbors who have transformed the cottage, grounds, and remaining farmstead into an artists and writers residency. COMPANION & Aleyah will be in touch with more location and attendance detail prior to the workshop.

Aleyah Austin [ b. 1998, American ] is an emerging, multidisciplinary artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan. They received an MFA in Ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art in the Spring of 2025 and hold a BFA in Studio Art from Bennington College. They have exhibited across the Midwest, including at Dream Clinic Project Space in Columbus, OH; Old Friends Gallery in Chicago, IL; and Forum Gallery in Bloomfield Hills, MI. In the summer of 2025, they were awarded the Ox-Bow School of Art Summer Fellowship for ceramics. Other awards include the Stewart Thomson Fellowship at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in 2025 and the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Materials Award in 2024. Austin is currently living and working in Indianapolis.

Boundaries between human, animal, flora, mineral, and machine blend in search of euphoria. A comprehensive selection of materials creates queer affinities across form and process. Fixating on and intertwining the qualities of ritual, domestic, and industrial spaces obscures the function of my work. Ceramics, glass, metal, and wood, as well as video, photography, and digital fabrication, summon themes of transformation, animacy, pleasure, and labor. Oscillating between embodiment of and disassociation from my body’s exertion acts as a release.

View works by Aleyah Austin featured in Coordinates of Belonging