I always like to acknowledge the equinoxes (and the solstices) in some way; this time around I chose to make some wet cyanotype prints, using the power of the waning solar rays.
First up are leaves on noil, or raw, silk. It's a heavy, textured fabric, with enough sericin left in it that it's hard to wet. I had previously treated this fabric and left it to dry slowly, so for these prints I sprayed it down with water before laying down the leaves. Above are fig leaves, and below is spikenard.
Spikenard is new to me. It needs to be transplanted young, and given time for its taproot to establish. This is its third year and it has exploded in size. I have a tendency to crowd things in the garden, and these are making me wish I had given them a bit more room, but at least this way I feel no pangs when I trim off some sprigs for printmaking.
Next up are three fig leaves. This is my first year growing figs, I've always been a bit intimidated by them, living on the cusp of where they can overwinter, but I've got some new varieties and I'm giving it a try, with one in the ground and one in a pot I'll store in the garage. As you can see, the leaves are fading, so again no guilt in harvesting a few.
These are on mineral paper, which is tremendous fun to experiment with.
The day was sunny and warm, but very autumnal, lacking the intensity of a summer day. Making wet cyanotypes in the off-season is always a bit of a gamble, but of course it's not a high stakes game.
Here are the prints after exposure, but before rinsing. The yellow bits are grains of washing soda, which alters the pH and produces funky effects.
I love the cool colors in the center of the mineral paper prints, but they are there because the heat was not intense enough to wick the chemicals out from under the leaves. It will change a good bit in the rinse out.
I tossed a bit of washing soda on this one as well, because why not.
Here are today's finished prints. The silk noil gives the prints a subdued, almost watercolor effect.
These are going to look lovely once I add stitching for definition.
How funky are these mineral paper prints? Lots of cosmic orb action happening here.
I like the way the leaves appear to be encased in an embryonic sac.
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