Harvesting the sun for Cyanotype Printing

Feeling a little blue? Well, there’s nothing like watching the indigo alchemy of cyanotype printing to brighten your day! Anna and Mel hosted a wonderful workshop at the Ninewells Community Garden, on a warm, sunny Saturday as part of the (slightly belated) Lughnasah celebration. 

Taking inspiration from the Celtic calendar to connect with the seasons, we began with a walk through the gardens, meditating on nature and collecting leaves and plants that spoke to us to use as stencils for a cyanotype print. The community garden is a peaceful place. The beds of herbs and flowers slope away down to a small forest, with little more than the occasional car engine to remind you that you’re close to civilisation. Each winding trail has a new surprise - a seat tucked under a pine tree, or a calming scent garden. I even saw the tail of a rat scurrying away into his home in the underbush! 

The technique for cyanotype printing is surprisingly simple: mix ferric ammonium oxalate and potassium ferricyanide, apply to your choice of medium (we used cloth and paper) and leave away from UV light to dry. Once dried and exposed to light, the pigments develop into a beautiful deep blue and any part protected from the sun remains white (once properly rinsed and dried). It is an archaic form of photography, and was originally used to copy architectural plans - hence the term blueprints. Mel was even kind enough to do the hardest part of applying the pigment for us. All we had to do was lay our chosen leaves on the paper, layer them between a solid mat and glass to hold the leaves steady, pop them in the sun and wait. And one by one, ghostly images of ferns and rosemary and pine needles appeared.

It’s an addictive process. Once each of us had done a cloth cyanotype, we were eager to start on paper, and then make another and another. Soon there were lines of leaves pinned to a make-shift washing line. Even the local crow family was curious enough to come by and take a look. No matter how many times I made a print, it was a fresh delight to see it develop and appear in the sun. After all, in the words of Terry Pratchett, “It’s still magic even if you know how it’s done”. 

The whole day was rounded off with a glorious potluck of salad, fresh fruit, home-made bread and cake, hummus and lots of tea and coffee (shoutout to Anna’s vegan quinoa salad recipe, I’ll be trying that next summer picnic!). Then a communal clean and tidy of the space.  All in all, a successful start to the Room To Be Celtic calendar of celebrations. May there be many more to come.

By El Dineley