Metamorphosis of the Cyanotype 

(The Beauty of the Undeveloped)

Cyanotype photograms

 undeveloped and developed prints

Part of the magic of using an older process such as Cyanotype is watching its development throughout the process. It starts out as yellow, this will remain in the unexposed areas until later washed away leaving the white of the paper. The exposed areas turn to gray in the light and are turned to blue when rinsed in water. Watching this process and learning how to coralates the tones of gray with the resulting blues is an important part of cyanotype print making. But there is also a beauty in the undeveloped print. This project is to emphasize this beauty. Salt was added to emphasize the vibrancy of the yellow and water was sprayed in areas to foreshadow the blue it will become. A photogram is made by laying objects on top of light sensitive paper. For this project I used folded strips of paper to mimic changing shapes in nature. I wanted to replicate the ripple of water and the beating of an insect's wings. Water is an essential element in both nature and cyanotypes. It is ever changing from its ripples and waves to its snowflakes and clouds. Insects are also always changing from their cocoons and Seeding skin . I used these elements to emphasize the beauty in the process of life. For more information see my blog where I cover the process in more detail. And consider purchasing my prints to fund future projects.