About this workshop:

When we process a piece of memory, we are remixing the original source with our own understanding, creating a new story. Cyanotype, a unique blue-hued printing technique that uses sunlight to make an image, embodies the remixing and processing that feels like recreating a memory. 

For this workshop, we would like to introduce a unique way to make art about memory. We ask you to bring an object. We will show you ways to process it, physically, into a cyanotype print and a piece of writing. A one-of-a-kind keepsake, a cyanotype print is a new way of seeing your object and your story. This could be the inspiration for a longer project that unpacks the memory through the object, and all the intangible things it symbolizes. 

Two artists who have done extensive multi-media work come together to teach a workshop for anyone who is interested in making cyanotypes and talking about memory. We ask the question: what does this memory look like? What is its outline? What is my relationship to it?

When: Sunday, September 21st 2025
Time: 2:00-4:00PM, starting in our back room with printing and drying outside in front of our shop
Where: Land to Sea, 402 Graham Avenue

Tickets are non-refundable and limited. 

Who is this workshop for:

You might be interested in learning the unique art of cyanotype with experienced multimedia artists. You may be looking for a visual way to tell a story, but don’t know where to start. You may be starting a memoir project, or making paintings about your family tree, or making a documentary about a family member. Or you would like to commemorate something important that happened recently, or process a love story that you don’t quite know how to put into words. Perhaps you have an object that calls to you, but has not defined its meaning in clear terms. 

What to expect:

Using cyanotype as the vehicle, the workshop teaches how to use natural sunlight to make beautiful blueprint exposures of an object. The workshop will also show you how to remix the original source through papercutting, drawing and writing. With a group of attendees, we will build community through sharing stories about the memories we are trying to retell. 

You will walk away with a cyanotype print made with your object, and with a new perspective thinking about the memory you are trying to process and make art about. It is the start of a new project explored in multiple mediums, a record of ephemeral places and times, shared space, a ritual that unites the past and future. 

About to the facilitators:

Yao Xiao

Yao Xiao is an artist born and raised in Tianjin, China and based in New York City. She is a MacDowell Fellow, and the author of graphic novel Everything Is Beautiful, And I’m Not Afraid. Her illustrations and writing have been published in The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, TIME, Catapult, Lit Hub, and Autostraddle. Yao Xiao makes art about straddling and bridging different worlds and navigating difficult memories. Her work blends emotion, experience, and imagination together with visual imagery, starting conversations about the complex interiority of first generation immigrants. 

Yao XIao first incorporated cyanotype into her practice to explore the feeling of home when she returned to China in 2023. The cyanotypes expanded into an essay and a new body of work. In 2025, Yao curated a group exhibition exploring memory and nostalgia, Eternal Living Room, at Land To Sea. Currently Yao Xiao has a book of memoiristic essays in progress, and is working on a graphic memoir about immigrating to the United States as a teen. 

Jinghong Chen

Jinghong Chen is a Rhode Island based visual artist born in Fuzhou, China. Her work explores themes of memory, place, and migration through the medium of cut paper. Influenced by Chinese folk traditions, nature, and personal history, Chen’s intricate hand-cut designs incorporate motifs from religious and cultural imagery, and examines the tension between connection and distance—both spiritual and physical—that arises from displacement and assimilation. Her works have been exhibited in Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. She is a Finalist for a MTA public art project, and a 2023 resident at Peter Bullough Foundation. 

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Upon purchase of these tickets, you are acknowledging the below:

You understand that we have a zero-tolerance policy for unacceptable behavior that will make other attendees uncomfortable (harassment, unwelcome advances, inappropriate language, discrimination, etc) and will result in your removal from the premises. This event is a safe and welcoming space.

You may appear in recordings or images on our social media + online platforms.

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Accessibility Information:

Entrance: Land to Sea is located on the ground floor and is an ADA Compliant space. The front entrance has one step, with wheelchair ramp available. There are no steps beyond the entrance to our space. The width of the front door entrance is 35" wide including the doorway. We do not have an automatic door. If you need to access our space using a ramp, please reach out to events@landtoseanyc.com in advance of the event date. 

Cafe Space: The cafe counter leads to an open-floor, most often occupied with cafe seating. Seating will be available during the event. The narrowest area is 6’5” and the widest area is 14’2” Access to our back room is available through a doorway ramp (no stairs) that is 35.5” wide. The bathroom is accessible from the back room. 

The cafe serves vegan and non-vegan snacks, teas, coffee and wine (subject to availability). Snacks cannot be guaranteed to be nut-free. We have paper cups and napkins.

Air conditioning and electric fans are available in the space.

Bathroom: There is one bathroom, which is 6 ft x 4ft. The door is 35" wide. It is not automatic. The sink is 33.5" high.

Counters: The main counter where the register is and drinks are served is 42" high.

COVID-19 Safety: Masks are available upon request