Consider the Alternative | Adventures in Cyanotype by Susan Chainey

Published on August 05, 2026

About the Exhibition

Consider the Alternative: Adventures in Cyanotype is a solo exhibition by photographer Susan Chainey featuring her work with cyanotype, a 19th-century photography process originally developed to document native flora. The show is designed to introduce viewers to the process, using Chainey's work to demonstrate the wide range of forms it can take. Exhibited pieces are printed on a variety of bases, including fabric, handmade paper, tile, and acid-free conservation paper.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

About the Artist

Susan Chainey's history with alternative photographic processes began in the early 1970s, working with gum printing, Van Dyke, and Polaroid Transfer. Cyanotype quickly became her medium of choice — a natural fit for its experimental spirit, unpredictable results, and benign chemistry. In the 1990s, she began incorporating digital negatives, merging 19th-century technique with contemporary technology. Chainey works from her Sawtooth studio, where she uses the sun's UV rays as her exposure source. She continues to expand the medium through toning with plant substances such as coffee and tea, and painting with natural dyes to create what she calls a "marriage" of materials.