Sue Reno Studio: blueprint

Showing posts with label blueprint. Show all posts

June 28, 2026

Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 104

Hello and welcome to part 104 of my experiments with wet cyanotype. For this session I used leaves from columbine, brunnera, lamiastrum and cotinus. The first three pre-exposure layouts shown here are on cotton fabric. I mixed a small amount of various Solarfast chemicals in with the cyanotype.

I then did four layouts on 9 x 12 mineral paper using columbine and lamiastrum. This paper never fails to surprise and delight me with the way the chemicals flow and merge on it.

Here are the prints after exposure but before rinseout. There's a lot going on and at this point I am full of happy anticapation.

Here are the finished prints. Once again, this process is only partially under my control, as there are so many variables to account for--temperature, angle of sun in the sky, length of exposure, and the chemistry inherent in the leaves.

And once again, I am delighted with the results. I hope you are too!

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June 16, 2026

Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 103

Welcome to part 103 of my experiments in wet cyanotype printmaking. I had an steamy hot day to work with, so rather than venture far I picked what was readily at hand-- some horribly invasive Japanese knotweed leaves and some lovely native boxelder twigs. This time of year the leaves are fresh and vibrant, but there are already a few bits of insect damage apparent. These are the print layouts, on cotton, after treating with cyanotype and Solarfast chemicals and before exposure.

I'm also back at it with the experimental prints on mineral paper. These are incredibly unpredictable and often spectacular. Here I'm using some cutleaf elderberry leaves and boxelder twigs.

Here's all the prints after exposure and before rinse out.

Those rusty brown colors on the mineral paper always rinse out, so it's fun to get a photographic record at this stage.

Here are the two finished cotton panels. There's lots of good stuff going on in these prints. At some point they will make their way into an art quilt or some other form of fiber art.

Here are the mineral paper prints. I love them so much, I feel like this batch is extra-special.

You can pick your platform to find and follow my content, and as always, thanks for reading.

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May 20, 2026

Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 102

Hello, and welcome to the 2026 season of my wet cyanotype printmaking. I've been at this particular part of my artistic practice since 2017 and I'm still going strong. I started this session with some blooming black cherry twigs. In the first photo I'm roughly auditioning their placement on the cotton sateen panel before applying the cyanotype and Solarfast chemicals.

Here's the same panel with the wet chemicals applied and the twigs and flowers carefully arranged. I did another slightly smaller panel with a slightly different mix of chemicals.

I had some pre-treated small sheets of fabric leftover from another project, so I used the last of the twigs to set up a traditional exposure.

Here are the two wet cyan panels after exposure but before rinse out. Flowers are, for me, one of the more difficult things to print, as it's easy to overexpose them and/or underexpose the leafy parts, so I wasn't completely confident that this would work out. It's looking reassuringly good at this stage.

Here are the finished prints. I am so happy with all the details, including the small individual blossoms sprinkled about. I'm also pleased with the cherry pink colors--these chemicals are a bit like pottery glazes in that you can't really tell when applying how they will finish up. I got it just right this time.

Here are the the traditional prints. I used to do a LOT of these, and they still resonate, but I prefer walking on the wilder, wet-cyan side.

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April 11, 2026

New Work - Under the Flying Up Moon

Under the Flying Up Moon

I am happy to share my latest work, Under the Flying Moon. It's part of an ongoing series, preceded by Under the Thunder Moon, and Under the Pink Moon.

Under the Flying Up Moon, detail 1

This quilt references a colloquial name for the full moon of August, when fledgling birds leave the nest and take to the blue skies. It serves as a metaphor for seasonal change, both in the yearly path of the earth around the sun, and in the stages of our lives as we experience them. I included vintage needlework as a homage to my aunts and grandmothers, whose farm chores left them little time for personal goals, yet they found a way to “keep their hands busy” and express themselves artistically. The patterns they chose often portrayed the flower gardens they meticulously maintained.

Under the Flying Up Moon, detail 2

This work continues my long fascination and with and practice of cyanotype printing on fabrics, using botanicals directly and printing from photographic negatives.

Materials: cotton and silk fabrics, vintage needlework panel

Techniques: traditional and wet process cyanotype prints, patchwork, stitching

Size: 48"h x 33"w

Under the Flying Up Moon, detail 3

The vintage embroidered panel I acquired long ago as a gift from a lovely friend who knew I collected these beauties. The side panels are cyanotype images from pictures I took on an early version of a digital camera, in 2008, of a magnificent catalpa tree in the Lancaster PA Central Park. The leaf prints are a selection of wet cyanotype prints from the past several year's experiments. Obviously I am a firm believer in having a wide and deep library of self-produced imagery to work with when inspiration strikes!

Under the Flying Up Moon, detail 4

I am honored that Under the Flying Up Moon is one of two pieces selected for the SAQA Exhibit Connecting with Nature, which will be at the Strathmore Mansion in Rockville MD from June 20 to July 31, 2026. The other work selected is Under the Pink Moon, which is a wonderful companion piece.