Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Day 46: Cyanotype


cyanotype of mermaid's purse (see day 34)

I have created my first few cyanotypes.

The most traditional form of sun printing, is called cyanotype. It involves exposing materials which have been treated with a solution of potassium ferricyanide and ferric ammonium citrate, to UV light, where an image is printed on the material through a chemical reaction and is set by washing with plain water. For instance, if a leaf is placed upon paper treated with this solution and left to sit out in the sun for about 10 minutes, the paper will retain the image of the leaf after it has been rinsed with water. After the paper dries, everything that was exposed to the UV rays of the sun will turn a shade of Prussian blue, while the part that was covered by the leaf will remain white.
- from wikipedia

1 comment:

nicole cordier said...

Who knew skate eggs could be so pretty?