Naomi Vanderleest, Education Assistant
The 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards closes next week, on April 7th, and this time of year I like to reflect on popular entries to anticipate what artworks the following year will bring. Below is one award winner that used a process that I saw a lot this year: cyanotype.
This is a cyanotype (commonly referred as a sun print), a photographic process that involves laying an object on paper coated with a solution of iron salts, exposing it to UV light, and washing it with water to create white and blue images. Understanding light and shadow is an important step when creating these images.
To help better understand this process, I am going to create another kind of sun print, an anthotype. Using household ingredients, this process involves altering natural pigments to become photosensitive (a reaction to light). To create an anthotype you will need the following materials:
- Gloves
- Watercolor or printmaking paper (any paper that is absorbent is best)
- Leaves, branches, or petals
- Isopropyl alcohol (this should have a high concentration of alcohol, 90% or more, or the image may not be as apparent)
- Coffee filter or paper towel
- Paintbrush
- Tray (that you can put the paper in)
- Masking tape
- Scissors
- Water
- Disposable cup and bowls
- Pigment (I used turmeric for the pigment, but you can use other natural dyes like berries. If it is not in powder form, though, it will need to be crushed and boiled)
- Glass casserole dish
- Baking soda or Borax
First, you need to create the solution that will become photosensitive. NOTE: It is important to wear gloves throughout this project, as this solution can easily stain. Combine in a disposable cup 2 parts isopropyl alcohol and 1 part turmeric (or your chosen pigment), to create about a ½ cup of liquid. Next, place the coffee filter over a bowl and pour the mixture through.
The coffee filter will eliminate any clumps or unabsorbed pigment, but may need to squeeze the filter to get out all of the solution. Now, you can paint the mixture onto the paper. TIP: Don’t paint the whole sheet of paper. Leaving a small white border allows room for the tape to be applied without it ruining the image. Apply two coats evenly.
As soon as it is applied, move the paper to a dark place to dry for 15 minutes. TIP: Don’t let it dry for much longer, or the paper may not react as strongly to the sunlight.
Arrange leaves and flowers on the paper, ideally in the dark area. Tape the objects to the paper and tape the paper against a window or underneath a casserole dish. The more pressure it has against the window, the clearer the image. TIP: Be careful of where you put the tape! If you put tape on top of objects in the photograph, you might see them in your image.
Now the sun will do the rest of the work! Have the paper stay in sunlight for at least two hours, remembering that on a cloudier day this may take longer. I created it on a cloudy day and let the paper stay out all day! Look outside and you may see your paper faded in the window. This is how you know it’s ready. Look at how mine turned out!
This isn’t the finished product, though. Once you have taken the photo out of the sun it needs to be processed so it doesn’t continue to fade.
Create a mixture of 5 parts water and 1 part baking soda or borax. I mixed about 2 cups of water with a tablespoon of baking soda. Place the paper into a tray and pour the mixture on top. The paper should be fully submerged in the liquid, so add more water if needed. Gently sway the tray back and forth and you should see the image darken; if not, add another teaspoon of baking soda.
It won’t be a big change from the original image at first, but once the paper dries it should darken to a brown color.
What image will you create using the sun? Play with light and shadow to create your own anthotype and check out the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards exhibition for more ideas. Love making art of your own? See if you’re eligible for this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition.