Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 55

Reporting in with another batch of wet cyanotype prints on mineral paper, made at the tail end of a warm and sunny September.

This batch is 4 different arrangements of wild fox grape leaves, damaged by the usual ravages of weather and insects.

Once again, I marveled at how the cyanotype chemicals swirled around on the paper at the beginning of the exposure. The bulk of my wet cyan work has been done on fabric, which absorbs the chemicals and behaves very differently.

Here's the prints after exposure, but before rinsing.

I put these out on a hot afternoon, then got distracted. It was a full 24 hours before I had a chance to remove the leaves and bring the prints indoors.

I got a lot a really interesting colors and designs in that time period; however, that was counterbalanced by the way the leaves got dried and stuck onto the paper in places.

I had to spend some time soaking and very, very gently scrubbing to remove the leaf fragments. 

So while I would not recommend this degree of over-exposure, the results are very unique and beautiful! Here are the finished prints.

There is so much variation in tone and intensity in these.

I think they capture that end-of-summer, brink-of-decay moment really well.

This one shows a lot of the leaf veining as well. 

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 54

First I want to take a moment to note that this is my 700th blog post! I began back in January 2008, and have been at it consistently ever since. I set several informal rules for my postings back then that I have observed ever since. My focus is on my artwork and the inspiration for the artwork, which includes gardening, hiking, and travel; my personal life is incidental. And rather than posting on a schedule, I post when I have something to report and something to say, with the intention that each post adds value and is worth my time and yours. 

I know that blogging has fallen in and out of popularity several times over the past 13 years, but I am carrying on regardless and hope to continue indefinitely. Many, many thanks to all of you who have supported and encouraged me over time, it means the world to me.

It seems fitting that today's post features wet cyanotype work, as that has been a huge part of my artmaking life for the past several years. Here we have two prints on cotton sateen, about 4ft. by 2ft., using cyanotype and Solarfast chemicals. I made them during September's warm and sunny spell. The first is Japanese anemone and maple leaves, and the second is black walnut.

Here they are after a long exposure but before rinsing.

Here are the finished prints. I am very happy with how crisp and detailed they are. I am adding them to the wealth of prints that are stacked up and awaiting stitching. It's looking like we will be going back into lockdown during the fall and winter, so I am grateful I will have something to occupy myself. 

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 53

Here is another sunny September batch of wet cyanotype prints on mineral paper. Again, I used leaves from my gardens and yard. Above are two calla leaves; I planted an unlabeled assortment of bulbs this spring, and I believe these are two different varieties, hence the slightly different profiles. I also planted a lot of ferns, and while they were all labeled and I kept track of what went where, for printing purposes I didn't check my notes, just clipped a good looking one. 

I have an elm growing at the fence line, and snagged a twig of that as well. I love the leaf edges.

Here are the prints after about 5 hours exposure, but before rinsing.

I got a lot of nice, fine leaf definition with this batch.

The rusty color on these is pretty fabulous, but it does rinse out. 

Here are the finished prints. 

I got some purple tones in some of these.

On the whole, I think this batch has a very aqueous look to them, like they were caught in a storm or a moving stream of water.

This elm print is so simplistic yet so very striking. 

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 52

Welcome to part 52 of my ongoing series of wet cyanotype experiments. For this set of prints I was again working with mineral paper, exposing it for many hours in bright, warm September sunshine. I gathered the leaves from my garden and the surrounding woodlands, starting with an elm twig, above, and a sprig of the dreaded invasive, Japanese knotweed, below. Printing with it is one way to work on its eradication!

I also used a frond of cultivated fern:

And a calla lily leaf. I love their shape, and the semi-transparent markings on the leaves of some varieties. 

Mineral paper is not as absorbent as the fabrics I am accustomed to work with, so I am fascinated by the way the chemicals swirl around on the paper so rapidly when I first set them out to expose.

Here are the prints after exposure and before rinsing. 

There is so much going on here.

That rusty color is particularly wonderful. The patterning looks like a river delta. 

Here are the finished prints.

Just like with wet cyan prints on fabric, it's hard to control the process, but it's also hard to go wrong.

I love all the swirly patterning in the background, contrasted with the very fine leaf definition.

And look! The white markings on the calla leaf let the UV rays through. 

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 51

September was warm and (too) dry here in my corner of Pennsylvania, and I embarked on a short frenzy of wet cyan printmaking. When I can I like to make prints on the solstice and equinox, and this year the autumnal equinox weather was clear and bright.

I set up two large prints, about 2ft. x 4 ft., on cotton sateen. I wanted to emphasize how overgrown yet on the verge of decay the borders of my property were, so I swirled the chemicals around a bit. This is a combination of cyanotype chemicals and Jacquard solarfast, a light-activated dye.

I did one panel with box elder leaves and Japanese knotweed leaves. The knotweed is a terrible invasive, crowding out native plants and blanketing the ground. I've been working on trying to eradicate it from my property; it's likely to be an extended battle. I will say this for it though, for printmaking it's wonderful, with nice sturdy leaves conveniently arranged on opposite sides of the stem. I've also had local honey made from the blossoms, and it was delicious. Small comforts but I will take them.

For the other print I used an old favorite, pokeweed. Horrible in garden beds, as it has a serious tapweed and nine lives, but wonderful in wild-ish places as it provides food for wild creatures. I also think it's very handsome. The berries will stain, but the color is fugitive. Above and below are the panels after a 24 hour exposure, but before rinseout. 

 Here are the finished prints. I am very happy with the energy and enthusiasm they exude, and the late summer look of them. I will probably turn them horizontally to stitch them; I am already full of ideas on how to use them in a quilt. My backlog is very long right now, which is problematic but much better than a creative block.

I will enhance the berries on this one with a lot of stitching and perhaps some beadwork.

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