Cyanotypes, feeling blue?

My interest as an artist in cyantoypes started to develop a few years ago. I see the pieces as visual poems, trying to capture the fleeting and transient seconds of a day.

The process I use to make cyanotypes uses two chemicals: ammonium iron(III) citrate and potassium ferricyanide. I coat paper or cotton fabric with a UV light sensitive solution and then leave it to dry, I do this away from daylight. To make my prints I use a combination of objects, and words printed onto acetate. I put these in contact with the paper and press together under glass. I then expose this to sunlight to make my contact print.

I've had more failures than success with cyanotypes. It took a long time to source the right kind of paper and even with digital scales getting the solution to the correct ratio can be a challenge. The British summertime, or lack of it, makes judging UV exposure times difficult as the sun can be intermittent.

Despite the challenges, the prospect of sunshine is getting me geared up for the next round of print making. There is nothing quite like the rich colour of cyan to brighten my mood!