My art group had our annual art retreat at Kiwanis Lodge on Little Bitterroot Lake in Marion, MT. This year we had decided to experiment with cyanotypes. We had actually done a bit of this a few years ago but hadn’t experimented with all the “extra” chemicals that you can add to change the colors and the way the prints developed. Luckily, the weather had cooled down, we got a bit of rain at the start of the weekend and the smoke cleared. Perfect weather to stay at the lodge.
We set up the tables with all our equipment and supplies. We were printing on paper and fabric. Cotton paper and natural fiber fabric seemed to work the best. Everyone brought different botanicals, some dried and flattened and others fresh. The first night we mixed up the cyanotype chemicals and painted our paper and fabric. These were dried in a room that didn’t have outdoor light which ended up being the bathroom. Once dry, the papers were stacked and kept under black paper to prevent sun exposure.
I used some transparencies I had printed in hopes of creating more tree spirit faces. However, I forgot that I needed these to be like a photo negative. I didn’t reverse the black and white so I ended up with some pretty spooky faces which you will see later. We used both the dry and wet methods. The dry method means that the cyanotype painted paper is covered with either botanicals or a printed transparency, covered with glass, clipped on the edges and placed in the sun. The top left photo shows the dry method getting it’s sunshine.
The wet method adds water and other “chemicals” to the mix. The painted fabric or paper is laid down. Here, Paula used feathers and placed them over the cyanotype paper. She then spritzed with water, watered down vinegar and watered down baking soda. With the pipette, she added some yellow pigment to the mix. Then she covered with glass, clamped the glass in place and put it out in the sun. You could also add bubbles or coarse salt to the wet surface.
Once it’s “cooked” in the sun, the piece is rinsed in water or water and hydrogen peroxide and the result is the typical blue cyanotype.
Here’s a video of rinsing the paper and seeing the change to blue.
Then, if you want a bit different look, you can “bleach” the paper in soda ash water. The picture on the left shows the paper from the video as it is put into the bleach bath and the one on the right is after bleaching it for a minute or two.
Here’s one of my creepy faces. Unfortunately, after I rinsed this one, I decided to bleach it. The cyanotype disappeared all together. I’m not sure if it was the previously screen printed surface that caused that or the type of fabric. Experimentation often lends itself to failures but you always learn new things.
Here’s some pieces drying. Some of the ones that have lots of brown were either previously eco printed or rusted.
Once the pieces were dry, then they could be bleached or toned. For toning we soaked in baths of pigment, tea, or coffee. That can add some background color. After the weekend was over, I kept getting all kinds of videos about using different substances to rinse or tone. Apparently, you can use nettles, madder root, citric acid and who knows what else. I am sure there are more options available. If you’re interested, there are loads of videos on Instagram and YouTube on cyanotype printing.
Here’s one more creepy face for you. I have a few printed faces on paper and some on different types of fabric. I even printed on some lightweight, sheer silk so I will be trying a few cyanotypes with nuno felting.
The other interesting thing that happened was printing on these tea bags. The end result had a purple color that we couldn’t figure out where it came from. We used several different kinds of tea bag paper and this was the only brand that gave a purple print. I don’t remember the brand though so who knows if it’s repeatable.
I think it’s really interesting seeing these other colors develop with this type of printing. Cyanotype printing is so recognizable that I find it difficult to use in my work. I prefer methods that are more layered and difficult to recognize immediately.
We had a great time as usual and it’s so wonderful to spend uninteruppted time creating with friends.