Artist’s Perspective – Rafferty

Sarah Bourne Rafferty received her MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA and received a BA in Studio Art with a concentration in Photography and Book Arts from Warren Wilson College near Asheville, North Carolina. Post MFA, Rafferty continued her studies at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, BookWorks in Asheville, NC, Maine Media in Camden, ME, among many others.

Rafferty is consistently inspired by the natural world, be it her small back yard or adventures on mountain tops far away. She creates blue and white botanical prints using the cyanotype process. Her exploration of nature is an ever-evolving attempt to dissect what is happening with the changing of the seasons and how they can relate to communication.

Rafferty is the founder of Atwater Designs, a cyanotype design studio that produces original cyanotypes, fine art prints and paper goods. She is also en educator, having spent 15 years in the classroom and has now moved to teaching and mentoring other artists online. She finds working with students to be integral in her process. Rafferty’s work has been shown both nationally and internationally. She currently lives in the West Chester borough with her husband, John, dog and cat.

About the process:

The cyanotype process is the oldest photographic process that begins by mixing a light-sensitive chemical solution, which is then painted onto paper. Once dry, I expose the paper to the sun with a plant or natural object touching the paper which is called a photogram. Once the paper has fully exposed, it is developed by using a water bath. The result is a white silhouette of the object on a Prussian blue background. Because of the chemicals used the result is always blue and white.