Over the next three weekends in Kenilworth, I’ll be demonstrating the mainstays of cyanotype printing techniques.
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| Ferns, large and small, in a variety of compositions |
As part of the Warwickshire Open Studios summer art weeks programme from June 18, I’ll be hosting drop-in demonstrations of the cyanotype process as invented by John Herschel in 1842. Light-sensitive chemicals are mixed and painted onto watercolour paper. A composition is laid on top and the paper exposed to the sun (UV). The masked areas turn white while the background turns Prussian blue.
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| Botanist and photographer Anna Atkins |
Botanist and pioneer Anna Atkins championed the process and used it to catalogue her fern and seaweed collections before having a special edition printed that was to become famous. It was the forerunner to blueprints and the striking blue and white images have become an art form in their own right.
Starting this Saturday from 10.30am – 2pm, I’ll open with sessions for beginners on mini-prints, a great way to get started. Sunday, I’ll move onto larger formats with a variety of papers.
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| Non-botanical moonlit scene created with chemicals and paper |
The following weekend (June 25/26), the Saturday subject will be non-botanical cyanotypes, whereby all manner of weird and wonderful substances (all domestic products and perfectly harmless) are strewn onto spritzed paper. These so-called ‘wet' cyanotypes are a contemporary form. No two are ever the same, which rather adds to their charm. On the Sunday, I’ll show how to create simply yet stylish prints from flowers and leaves from your own garden.
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| Detail of a giant allium print |
‘When is a cyanotype not a cyanotype?’ The answer? When it’s a digital
negative! One converts a regular jpeg image through a series of steps
into an inverted black and white digital negative that is printed onto
clear OHP paper. Pop by on the final Saturday and Sunday (July 2/3) to
see how versatile this method really is, especially when combined with
other techniques.
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| Digital negative on treated paper of Guy's Cliffe House |
Of course, you can print cyanotypes onto glass, fabric or even wood. Maybe next summer?!
Meanwhile, I’ll be at 28 Moseley Road, Kenilworth, for the summer art weekends. No experience or materials required and suitable for all ages. Come by and say hello and discover a world of blue.
Full details on the Warwickshire Open Studios website.