The story behind these two…

Ever curious, I am interested in going deeper into each and every print that I make and so deepening my practice.  Cyanotype printing is no different.

The flowers in these two prints were grown in my own garden and at the time, I was looking to put nature back into my Cyanotype prints somehow.  So began a Summer of experiments.  I have a fairly superficial knowledge of natural dyeing and love the muted pastel colours that I get.  Always at the back of my mind has been the work of Babs Behan.

Around this time I was given this book for my birthday… Cyanotype Toning: Using Botanicals to Tone Blueprints Naturally.

I decided to make some botanical tea (always tea in our family) to tone my Cyanotype prints.  I chose to take the rosemary from a very precious plant in my garden.  I steeped the treasure in water for a good hour, to make a nice strong brew.  I bleached the prints with a solution of Soda Crystals and then put the prints in the tea bath for about half an hour, checking on the colour regularly.

I dried my prints and then flattened them.  If you have a Cyanotype print that fades, the solution is to put it in a dark place for a while and the colour will come back.  Always display Cyanotype prints away from bright sunshine to preserve their colour.

As time went by, I noticed my Rosemary toned prints were changing colour.  I wasn’t sure how the prints would end up if left, so I decided to scan them to preserve them

I’ve had them professionally printed on a simple archival  photograg paper and then I’ve hand finished them with an acid-free preserving wax, developed by the British Museum.

The prints measure 10 x 8 inches plus a white border. They can be purchased here.

If you’re interested in making Cyanotype prints yourself, then pop over to my Essentials List where share everything you need.