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.
A reminder that you can also follow on your platform of choice:
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