CYANOTYPE ~ EXPLORING THE REALM OF LIGHT

CYANOTYPE ~ EXPLORING THE REALM OF LIGHT

Last week we did a mini cyanotype workshop with local artist Alison Van Wyck at the SAN Center/LOTUSWEI headquarters as a test-run for a workshop happening on April 27th!

It was everyone’s first time ever working with cyanotype ~ and it was so. much. FUN. Check out the photos below for the process + results!

A woman wearing yellow gloves brushes cyanotype solution onto paper indoors during the SAN Center workshop.

First, you paint the chemical on, which you can do in many different ways.
Loved seeing how everyone expressed themselves during this process!

A woman kneels on the lawn arranging pine needles and pressed flowers onto a cyanotype board at the SAN Center.

 Then, you collage your paper with whatever you're drawn to ... botanicals, flowers, gems, etc.
This part is done inside, away from the light!

A woman arranges sunflowers, ferns, and magenta petals onto fabric for a cyanotype layout on the grass.

Two women arrange eucalyptus and fern on cyanotype paper as a third hand reaches in with a pine sprig, outdoors

A woman arranges pine, eucalyptus, ferns, a pinecone, and magenta petals across cyanotype fabric outdoors

Eucalyptus, ferns, and small white flowers arranged on a green-washed cyanotype board, a paint cup resting beside it

Next, you let your creation sit in the sun for 5+ minutes, letting the sunlight work its magic and dance with the chemicals!

A person holds a board with pine needles, eucalyptus leaves, a curved twig, and a stone spiral for cyanotype art

Two women kneel on grass arranging a pine sprig and yellow flower on a cyanotype board beside a stucco wall

Three women rinse a cyanotype print in a blue kiddie pool of water outdoors on the grass

And then you rinse off the chemicals and you have your print!

Three smiling women display their finished cyanotype prints — abstract, floral, and fern designs — outdoors at the SAN Center.

Two makers hold up a finished botanical cyanotype on the lawn at the SAN Center workshop

Cyanotype print with round eucalyptus leaf silhouettes, small ferns, and star-shaped flowers on deep blue

It was so fun to follow our curiosity during this process ~
playing with adding + moving items, the angle of sunlight hitting the paper, sprinkling water on the surface.

Abstract cyanotype print with fern fronds, scattered petal shapes, and a beaded vine silhouette in deep blue

Cyanotype print in deep blue with fern fronds, small flowers, and brushed paint textures

Because the chemicals are so sensitive to sunlight, this is a biiiiiiig practice in letting go and finding beauty in the unexpected!

Cyanotype print with a spiral of small stones, radiating pine-needle lines, and soft petal shapes in blue

Want to explore cyanotype? Join us April 27th from 10am-1pm at the SAN Center! Click here for tickets. 

Not in the Phoenix area? Check out your local art center or try an at-home cyanotype kit!

Love + flower petals,

Katie

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