The Magic of Anthotype
A Conversation with Mary Kocal
In 2024, as part of our 30th Anniversary celebrations, the Friends of the Community Growing Center partnered with Somerville artist and Massachusetts master gardener Mary Kocol on a colorful project. From April to October, Mary would visit the Growing Center every few weeks to extract color from blooming flowers in order to make plant colors typically used in the anthotype process. Putting these color samples altogether at the end of the year, she created a sort of palette, now available in poster form, that represents the colors and seasons of the garden.
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This is a process near and dear to Mary, who studied photography in college and then earned her Master’s at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She was introduced to the concept of anthotypes in 2019 by her friend and fellow artist, Jessica Ferguson. For a photographer and avid gardener who has been creating art and cultivating plants since childhood, the anthotype process was truly the perfect combination of her passions.
What is an anthotype? Literally translating to "flower print," it is an ephemeral image created through an eco-friendly photo-based process involving plant emulsion. This process uses the sun to make exposures in order to extract natural color from flowers and plants, and was discovered during the Victorian era by the same inventor of the Cyanotype (sunprint) process.
I met Mary on an unusually warm day at Bloc Cafe in Somerville near the Growing Center, where she shared her journey with me. Over the course of our conversation, she pulled out both original anthotypes and photocopies of ones she’d created. It felt like she was sharing little flashes of magic with me.
From Garden to Art
In 2020, when the world shut into isolation and quarantine due to COVID-19, many people found themselves with more time on their hands - time to hunker down baking sourdough bread, or pick up a new hobby, or just be outside in nature. For Mary, the lockdown presented an unexpected opportunity to dive deeper into her new craft: anthotype. She describes the experience as “being locked down with my garden.” She began to explore how plants could be used to create color and art in a way that was both ancient and revolutionary.
“I love how it brings back the magic of plant chemistry,” Mary explains. Through anthotype, she creates color from nature in a process that feels almost alchemical. She describes it as being akin to making pesto: First, you gather the leaves, seeds, petals, or other parts of the plant. Then, using a mortar and pestle, you release the plant’s color, which is then strained through cheesecloth. The result is a rich, plant-based pigment ready to be used for printing.
A Community of Creativity
In 2024, Mary reached out to Lisa Brukilacchio, one of the Growing Center’s founding Board members, in the hopes of sharing the anthotype process with more of the Somerville community. With support from the Somerville Arts Council, they organized an anthotype workshop which was held in May. The event took place on a sunny spring day at the Growing Center with about 25 attendees eager to learn. Mary led demonstrations, explaining the history and process of anthotype.
Everyone was captivated and excited to try the process out themselves. Some were first-time visitors to the Growing Center from parts of Boston and Dorchester who were so happy to know about the existence of this hidden garden. There was a good mix of kids, a family, college art students, gardeners, and neighbors.
“It was a wonderful event integrating nature, the arts, sharing, learning and hands-on experience,” said Lisa. “One of our board members attended with some friends and their young friends and they had very positive feedback across the generations!”
They ended the workshop with another method of applying plant color to paper: eco-printing, also known as the Japanese flower pounding technique: Tataki-zome.
“People just loved it,” Mary recalls with a smile. “There was something so special about being outdoors, with the plants, and learning how to make art from them. It felt like a perfect harmony of nature and creativity.”
The gorgeous weather timed perfectly with Mary’s irises coming out - they were in full bloom and prime for making anthotype emulsion.
Scroll through the slideshow above to view photos from Mary Kocol's anthotypes workshop in May, 2024.
A Year of Color at the Growing Center
The Friends of the Community Growing Center got involved when Board President Betsy Larkin fell in love with Mary’s artwork and saw an opportunity to share the beauty of her work with a wider audience, while raising funds for the Center at the same time. And so, a new project was born: A Year of Plant Colors at the Somerville Community Growing Center. This painstaking, months-long endeavor on Mary’s part culminated in a gorgeous finished product - a frame-worthy poster featuring anthotype colors of all 48 flowers and natural extracts that Mary was able to produce. There’s even a color extract of maple syrup from the Somerville Maple Syrup Project!
Mary first visited the Growing Center to extract color pigments on April 20. After that, she visited ten more times - every few weeks gathering samples from the plants growing there - all the way into early October. She collected leaves, flowers and seeds, carefully extracting pigments to create vibrant samples of color. She also took notes as she went, some in the form of notebook entries and color smudges; and updated the team a few times with her progress.
Notes from June 16:
Yesterday was an especially colorful collection with the strawberry, purple mallow & calendula - wow! Pea leaves also make a great color. I'm looking forward to the blackberries & grapes coming - those are usually intense colors. I like to keep a small sketchbook & often include plant smudgings (pressed plants too). Smudging a plant into paper is the first step in investigating if a plant will work as an anthotype color.
Mary deeply enjoyed visiting the Growing Center, which she describes as “a little oasis in Somerville’s tree desert.” The Center has been a source of inspiration for her work, and she appreciates the welcoming and friendly atmosphere created by its volunteers. “It’s amazing to see so many people coming together to nurture this space,” she says. “It feels like a little sanctuary in the middle of the city.”
For Mary, this project is not just about the art — it’s about the deep connection between nature and the creative process.
“I’m inspired by nature,” she says. “Art can be made from plants, and that’s magical. It’s about creating something that reflects the beauty of the natural world while raising awareness about its importance.”
Notes from September 11:
I've collected 42 colors so far! Concord grape was already ripe when I stopped by earlier this month. I may try zinnias next, though I have a feeling it's a rather 'dry' bloom that may not yield much color on paper. Will look for red amaranth.
As Mary spoke about her work, it became clear that for her, anthotype is more than just a technique — it’s a way to reconnect with the earth and share that connection with others.
She encourages those interested in the process and/or with gardening in general to just start experimenting.
“Anything can be learned,” she says. She suggests starting by walking around with a notebook, collecting plants, and just trying out different techniques.
“It’s a magical process,” Mary said.
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You can follow Mary’s work on her website at MaryKocal.com and on Instagram at @marykocal. Her journey is a beautiful reminder that art, nature, and community are all interconnected — and that magic can be found in the simplest of things, like a leaf, a flower, or the pigments of the plants that surround us.
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