Lindy Smith, a Jefferson native and 1970 graduate of Jefferson Community High School, is an artist in residence at the Brenton Arboretum near Dallas Center this month.
Smith creates sun-print art using plants and a special process called Kallitype. This Saturday at 10 am, Smith will present some of her artwork and talk about her experiences in a new class, “The Fusion of Native Plants and Sun-Print Art” with native plant expert Deb Lewis. Brenton Arboretum is located at 25141 260th St, Dallas Center.
The Kallitype is a photo process developed in England in 1842. Smith has altered the process to use plants rather than a negative, and to expose them under sunlight rather than ultraviolet light. She creates unique images, not editions of the same image.
Smith has done Kallitype in California, Wyoming, Arizona, Montana, New York, Illinois, and in 2008 and 2009 at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City. She has said she often thinks of her work as conservationist in nature.