Sue Reno Studio: Experiments in wet cyanotype

September 23, 2020

Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 49

I'm having fun experimenting with a new medium. Mineral paper is a synthetic paper made from calcium carbonite dust, bonded with HDPE. It's thin, with a very smooth texture, and holds up to wet processes much better than a lot of wood pulp papers. The flip side is that it's not very absorbent, although it will pick up water based pigments as stains. I wanted to see how it would work with my wet cyanotype process.

With the first prints I set out I was immediately intrigued. The cyanotype pigments moved across the surface of the paper very quickly and fluidly.

My first trial batch included a two fern panels, and two of pin oak leaves. The paper is 9" x 12". The cyanotype chemicals continued to move around the paper for a long time, although the rate slowed as it was (presumably) partially absorbed into the paper. I left it out in bright September sunshine and 70F temps for about 4 hours.

Here are the prints after exposure but before rinsing.

I was already in love with the background textures; very different than the effects I get on fabric.

The chemicals seemed to cluster in thin/thick lines around the leaves.

And here are the rinsed and finished prints.

I am extremely happy with how these turned out and will be doing more of them.

These will not be replacing my textile work, which is always where my primary focus will be. But the textile prints are just one stop in a longer process that involves many hours of stitching and quilting and finishing.