Name: The First Wave

Wave number: 1

# of finger loops: 6 

Date created: June 17, 2023

Wave makers: Community Members at Making Waves Cyanotype Workshop

Location: Nature Center at Pia Owkai

Water tributary: Pia Owkai aka Jordan River

Light conditions: Bright and sunny, no and or little cloud cover

Organic matter used: River water

Fabric type: Robust Cheese Cloth

Additional notes:

I was going through things in my garage I took from my parents’ house, and I found a long piece of white fabric, like a robust cheesecloth. I grabbed this piece of fabric, knowing I wanted to do something with it, but I didn’t know what yet. Reflecting on the art we wanted to create to represent the Great Salt Lake, I saw this piece of fabric as an opportunity to produce a large cyanotype in a community workshop. This wave was created at our first Making Waves community art build at the Nature Center at Pia Owkai, where we created cyanotypes in community for the first time. Nan and I laid out the pre-coated fabric I had coated the night before on the gravel as people of all ages, backgrounds, kids, and parents, splashed cups of water from the river on the fabric. There was also a magic watering-can that poured water in a wave across the fabric. It was magical to see how we came together for the first time, using water from the river Pia Owkai we would develop a beautiful relationship with.