Appropriately, artist and writer Kim Arthurs of Providence created a garden dreamscape for the cover of the outdoors issue. They used a technique called cyanotype, which incorporates the elements of earth, air, water, and fire. Discovered in 1842 by astronomer John Herschel, cyanotype was popularized a year later by botanist Anna Atkins, who released a book of British algae cyanotypes, and is now seen as a pioneering figure in photographic history. In explaining how they made the cover, the selftaught artist details all of the steps in creating this unique art form.
They placed flowers and ferns, harvested from their garden last season, on a sheet of photosensitized paper, then laid their hand on it. Arthurs exposed the paper under a UV lamp at the start of spring. “After the cyanotype was done exposing, I developed it in water, then air dried it,” Arthurs recounts. The botanicals and their hand became silhouetted against the Prussian blue background. They then stitched in constellations using thread that glows in the dark (unfortunately, we can’t print glow-in-the-dark ink). For the final touch, Arthurs added vibrant pressed flowers to the hand print. “The hand is the focal point of the artwork, and symbolizes what you choose to hold on to; what you choose to collect, and carry, and what you choose to give,” Arthurs explains.
The artist calls their garden their biggest muse. Arthurs first tried their hand at cyanotype on the summer solstice in 2021, a year after moving to Providence from Plymouth, MA. “I had started learning about it, and that day made my worst cyanotype,” they recall with a chuckle. They kept at it, and through trial and error thoroughly learned the process. “It’s a blend of science with art. You’re mixing two iron salts, ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, that have a chemical reaction to UV light,” Arthurs says, adding for them that there’s a magic to the process. “There is a whimsical charm to sometimes not knowing what exactly will happen,” they add. It all depends on how exactly the sun or UV light affects the chemical mixture.
A member of the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, Arthurs enjoys teaching about cyanotype. “I have four workshops over the next two months,” they say. “I hope to build from there.” Last February, Arthurs had a solo art show titled Garden As Body at the Arts Collaborative. The collection of mixed media cyanotypes and creative writing numbered seventy individual pieces. They had worked on the project for two years. “Exposing myself on the walls of the Collaborative was awesome, and kind of terrifying at the same time,” they say. It inspired using their hand in the cover art.
Arthurs earned a BFA in Creative Writing and English, with a concentration in Screenwriting, from University of Maine Farmington in 2016. After working at New Harvest Coffee Roasters for two years, they were promoted to head coffee roaster in 2024. They pair their career with an interest in food science and fermentation. “I love to pickle tomatoes and make fermented salsa,” they say. Other products from their garden and kitchen are kombucha, tepache, sauerkraut, sourdough, ginger beer, and various vegetables. Arthurs has held workshops and seminars on fermentation at farmers markets and homebrewers associations, and conducted classes as well.
For fun, Arthurs is a seasonal Providence Ghost Tour guide. The artist refers to themself as a mooner, which they describe as, “Someone who aimlessly wanders around, and gets inspired by the things they stumble upon. I meander through life, forge my own path. I taught myself a lot, but also learned from and connected with the talented people in my life, and that’s how all these things manifested.” What most inspires Arthurs is the ecological practice of community, which spawns all around us, and “how we work together, build connections and relationships, and grow together.” Arthurs concludes, “Spring is here, and soon my garden will be waking up. I’m excited.”
Arthurs’s artworks, cyanotype workshops and fermentation seminars can be viewed at their website moonersmakes.com
