Art/Science - Cyanotypes

Cyanotype is a photographic printing process, which produces prints that are blue. John Herschel discovered the process in 1842. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. The process uses two chemicals: ammonium iron(III) citrate and potassium ferricyanide.

We collected natural materials from woodland and mummy says that the prints we make will be copied perfectly. She said that the more delicate and intricate plants make the best prints but the shapes are really important. Anything too big or undefined won't work very well. 

Composition 

Composition is really important with cyanotypes. As it creates a negative image, you don't want any of the print materials to be unclear or mixed together too much. Over the materials, glass is placed, because as the sun moves and processes the print, we don't want the shadow to be undefined. 

Painting the sheets of paper with the chemical solution has to be done in darkness. The solution also has to sit for 24 hours to dissolve properly. Mummy did the painting because it stains. 

Exposure

We did this on quite a cloudy day, so the printing time had to be about 20-30 minutes.

Processing

Mummy tested the PH of the water and decided to add vinegar to make it more acidic. The prints were then washed, hung and dried. 

The prints didn't turn our perfectly but these can be test pieces and we can have another go. I really enjoyed learning about this and it was really fun watching it throughout the process. 

2nd attempt

These turned out much better with a longer exposure and longer processing time. These are definite portfolio pieces.