#how to make a cyanotype

[expobazzar]

Rejuvenating Cyanotypes Photography from Indian Artisans

Discover the timeless beauty of rejuvenating cyanotypes photography captured by skilled Indian artisans. Immerse yourself in the rich heritage and intricate details of Indian artistry as vibrant cyan-blue hues bring ancient traditions to life. Explore a mesmerizing fusion of contemporary creativity and traditional craftsmanship, as these unique cyanotypes offer a captivating glimpse into the artistic soul of India.

[camellcat]

some doctor who cyanotypes I made for my photography class that I just realized I never shared

[calware]

wait do you do film photography?

no ;^^ i'm studying for a bfa and one of the foundational classes involves a lot of photography, so i'm doing a bit of it atm but i don't really know anything aside from the stuff we've learned so far

[kissmypoets-hp]

📚 Fanfic Classics Series: The Lettered Special (Part One)

Some covers for @letteredlettered's beautiful fics, which have kept me company over the years. The Drarry fandom is extremely blessed to have so many talented writers and to me lettered's fics are foundational texts. I've had a number of these already saved and when I started making ebook covers for my Kindle I knew I had to make covers for these. Life-changing!!!!! I know I use the term "life-changing" often whenever I recommend fics, but it is what it is. Please, it is 3AM. Read (or re-read) these masterpieces and thank me later.

Away Childish Things Harry gets de-aged. Malfoy has to help him.

Friends at Last This can be considered the sex extra from Away Childish Things, if you like, but you don't have to have read that to enjoy this. It's porn.

He Who Must Not Be Normal Potter has fame and fortune and posh clothes and all he wants is a simple life. Draco has a flat and a cat and a steady job and all he wants is a complicated life. Which makes you think this story has something exciting like body-swapping, but it doesn’t. Instead it has Indian takeaway and a blue jumper and people wanting a whole lot of what they can’t have, discovering themselves as they discover each other.

Hope Springs Eternal (But Love Springs in the Forest, Unannounced) Draco falls into a love spring. Harry saves him! And now they’re bonded for life. Draco is horrified. Harry thinks it’s kind of neat.

By the Grace Harry is an Auror instructor. Malfoy wants to be an Auror.

art credits + comments under the cut :)

Artworks used, in order:

“L'Atre (The Hearth)” by Édouard Vuillard (1899)

"The Open Door" by Edouard Vuillard (1900-04) 💬 Away Childish Things is one of the first fic covers I made, ever. I've reread this fic often, mostly because Harry deserved a better childhood for real!! This is, like, THE kid fic ever. Seriously. I enjoy making covers for fic series because it means I get to do matching covers by the same artist (thank you sir Vuillard). I chose the first piece because it fit the visual mood of the first fic: kind of dreary, but still warm (Draco's lab, baby Harry and his terrible childhood). I also remember some adventures involving Floo powder here :) Honestly, I think Harry and Draco were lonely in their own way before the de-aging incident happened, and both Harry and Draco (in their older and younger counterparts) needed one another. It's so special to me that they were able to meet each other where the other person was without romance involved — they weren't even friends at the start but they still managed to meet each other halfway... For Friends At Last I wanted to choose a painting with a brighter mood because hello, resolution. They're friends at last (okay, title drop)! They have communicated and [insert ACT ending here because no spoilers]! They.... have sex! The same style of chair being featured in both paintings is a happy coincidence. Perhaps Sir Vuillard had an inkling that one day his artwork would be used to make ebook covers. IDK.

"Still Life" by Pablo Picasso (1918) 💬 I was thinking of Draco's apartment here. He Who Must Not Be Normal is a dynamic I can't get out of my head (and it was published in 2013!!!). Basically, all of lettered's works are so compelling. I could be wrong (I wasn't really an active participant in the fandom until this year haha), but I swear I can see lettered's influence on other fics in the fandom...

"Schizonema Dillwynii" by Anna Atkins (1853) 💬 This is actually a cyanotype of a plant LOL but it reminded me of a spring. Sometimes the process is that literal. Anyway, this fic... It kind of set the bar for magical bond fics for me??? I still can't describe why or how. But please read it if you haven't yet!!

"The Lone Tree" by Caspar David Friedrich (1822) 💬 Because of Timothy Tree... I couldn't find a good tree artwork that perfectly got the vibe (in the public domain, at least) but I like this one too.

[christinaseas]

I recently worked on an assignment with the goal of creating a new compisition of existing images. Beyond that it was fairly open-ended. A couple weeks ago I (accidentally) purchased transparent sticker paper that wasn't waterproof, and I've been trying to come up with a way to prevent them going to waste. I got the idea to print the images on the sticker paper and use that to make a collage and then leaning into the distortion that could be caused by liquid and how it would vary

depending on how I layered the cutouts. That got linked up in my head with some cyanotype/sunprinting I've been doing, and after that it felt really natural to create a compistion of clouds, distort them with rain, then develop them in the sun.

I started out just collecting a bunch of pictures of clouds that were both the centerpiece and the background of pictures I've taken over the years. I cut out the clouds and converted to greyscale as I went, so I could get a sense of how they'd look in that format, but here is a re-collection of some of the (still cropped) originals for the sake of ~visuals~

I had six sheets of the sticker paper, so I arranged the clouds and resized them to fill them out, then cut them out! Was this partially an excuse to use a new toy? Maybe.

I didn’t follow a particularly precise plan with placing the stickers beyond being sure to keep some of the small ones fully covered so they would stay in tact, and putting two very large ones on as a sort of base, but otherwise, I just went off instinct. When I thought I was done, I snapped a quick pick and re-inverted to get a sense of what it might look like.

The next thing I needed was the rain. We’ve been getting regular evening storms, so I didn’t think I’d have to worry about the need to have some rain followed by lots of sun. This would have been a great time to have saved a screenshot of forecasts with nonstop clear skies followed by non-stop rain through Sunday. Or the banner saying to expect dry conditions. Of the radar of storms skirting around my area (by a long bit, but at the scale of the storm, it felt close). 

Artistic rendering:

(on a related note, today it was so humid the windows kept fogging)

I didn’t even have much humidity to work with, but I found myself trying to force it using ice packs and cling wrap. I felt determined to keep it true to natural-ish influences, so I didn’t want to just use the hose sprayer. As I was attempting to do this, a drizzle started, and I jumped on the opportunity.

I didn’t end up getting as dramatic an effect as I’d hoped to achieve with a proper rainfall or even a heavy misting, but there were some droplets visible and a bit of smudging that occurred during the dash around trying to catch droplets. 

The rain was short-lived, so I didn’t have to wait nearly at all until the sun shone again for me to be able to use it to develop. I started out using pretreated cyanotype fabric sheets, and held it all in place using the picture frame I’d stolen the glass from, and it was finally time to develop!

That process went as usual (will save result for the end), and I was itching to try more things, so I decided to see what would happen if I tried applying the solarfast dye to the pretreated fabric. Both were Jacquard brand so I thought maybe they would be compatible. 

Going through development cycle, I had a bit of a surprise that I hadn’t considered. The moisture from the dye achieved what I was unable to with the tiny bit of rain - lots of smudging!

Lastly I decided to try an exposure with just the solarfast dye on plain fabric. The previous round pretty well destroyed many of the stickers, but fortunately I hadn’t used quite all of them during the first round, so I rinsed off the dye, peeled off the totally cleared stickers, and applied the leftovers. Did one last quick exposure just as the clouds started to roll in and not let up. I didn't take pictures of this step, oops.

Anyway after lots of rinsing and washing and literally watching them dry, it was time for the final result!

This was the first one and you can see the clouds fairly easily, made easier by the blue of the cyanotype. You have to zoom in to see the speckling and smudges created by the rain.

The next one is probably my favorite, but next time I might want to do a multi-step process. I think the solarfast dye acted as a resist for the cyanotype so most of it is pretty underexposed, but I want to experiment with letting the dye dry first or exposing the cyanotype and then over-dyeing with the solarfast.

I don't really have any details I want to draw attention to, but Ijust love the texture and I've had a lot of people point out shapes/figures they've seen, which feels really reminiscent of looking for shapes in the clouds, so it feels very full circle.

Lastly there's the plain solarfast which I think is cool visually, but I don't love how the colors turned out.

And that's that!

[omorard]

Gerard way cyanotype august 28 2023. Exposed for 25 minutes on a mostly sunny somewhat cloudy day. Cyanotype mixture on off white cotton blend fabric. I’m like genuinely so impressed that it actually worked?? I didn’t have high hopes tbh

Original image for reference

How I plan to improve it.

Make two prints of the negative sheet, so I can layer them. Or print the same negative sheet twice, allowing the darks to become darker, allowing the white areas on the final print to be lighter.

[tiny-vermin]

I want to know more about the m9 artist au!! I remember reading a post or two about it a billion years ago (and would love to read them again) 💜

hi jess!!!! thank u for being interested hehe :")

so ever since i drew that lil thing of essek painting a frank stella inspired painting (or even before), ive been thinking of what kinds of art each of the m9 would do. essek ofc is inspired by a minimalist show that i went to here, all the big names from that movement were shown, but those really dark, sinkhole-like paintings are speaking to me. another artwork of boxes made of mirrors also seems like the thing he would do too

there's a kiln here that we visited which was huge, and surrounding it were artists' studios and some other ceramic sellers, i imagine the clay family having a place like this in the middle of nowhere amongst the trees, and caleb would do his work there

anyways because at heart im a shadowgast luver its centred around them,, they meet at an artist residency or something like that and its an incredibly slow burn that involves talking and not-talking and looking and not-looking. in the end i am but a simple wong kar wai fan so. that kinda vibes would definitely influence this, i would describe it as a quiet burning i guess?? time skipy and words that are not said

i think im gonna rant a bit more about their different mediums and styles so i'll keep it under the cut

i think caleb sculpts figures and portraits, but in a sad, kathe kollwitz charcoal vibe. maybe some funky looking animals, perhaps some pots and vases to look at the pretty glazes. he's interested in using fire to burn texture into different mediums, like ive seen it being used on shellac to make a really cool net of ink looking structure.. but yknow, just seeing the aftermath of glazed ceramic from the kiln is enough, and probably better for him to keep his distance anyways

the clay family produces most of the ceramic to sell, vases, pots, plates, cups, teapots, yknow just a whole array. and its really colourful too, depicting every family members different style. i think caduceus would do some matte glazes with a lot of different colours, theyre all a little wonky but theyre better off that way anyways. he does some really mean ink calligraphy and painting though

jester definitely does,, everything, whatever her heart desires kinda thang. she makes pastel textile installations and lighthearted cute paintings, but theyre always so contemplative and soothing. she gets m9 a lot of work cus her mom has connections, etc etc. i really love the idea of jester creating works that talk about the female body and femininity (definitely not projecting no)

beau is a printmaker and photographer who's really experimental, she loves cyanotypes and printing flowers (for yasha), idk she seems like she would put fabric and rocks into the washing machine to see what would happen. u would probably catch her in someone elses studio learning about what they do or in the library learning about what old people did

veth works in a museum as a curator, getting beau to help her sometimes with gathering artworks and artists etc. she probably organises community art projects for kids and public art installations. her house is full of m9's artworks and various other artists shes worked with.

yasha does bouquets as her post-retirement part time job, prior to that no one really knows what she did ("she probably murdered a bunch of people and is now hiding from the government"). fjord draws comics for fun but is also not a job for him, molly is a question mark for me. but these guys probably wont be in it as much anyways

im still not sure what format i wanna do this in, im actually having fun just writing it in my notebook now (digital does not facilitate the creative juices) but i do want to do some visuals like fake movie stills or storyboards. maybe they will work together well???? dunno. working on the other shadowgasty thing im doing made me realise how much easier it is to draw when there's a script already there, so im writing the script for myself

im definitely not as practiced in writing as i am in drawing, but idk im just gonna have some fun and see where that takes me, meanwhile try not to feel too bad that its fanart HAHA (very bad habit)

edit: i just saw my previous thoughts on beau being an art journalist, but i kinda like this better.. but maybe she can do both muah

[yama-bato]

[yesterdayiwrote]

I answered an ask the other day where I said I felt like there were so many overlooked Galex fics because rec lists tend to have a bit of a recency bias, and then I realised, one way to rectify this was to just... do a rec list of my favourite older Galex fics so... this is that?

Sugar High by Animalceramics

An impromptu road trip (with Jaffa Cakes), where the banter is covertly sweet and they re-examine an old friendship

One of the first fics that threw me head first into Galex. The characterisation is just *chefs kiss* and the entire dynamic between them... perfection

you and me until the end of time by alltimecharlo

The one where George has a four-year-old daughter and Alex is her preschool teacher.

Tooth rotting fluff. Everytime I think about writing Galex with kids my brain goes back to this and I end up not bothering because this is as good and as cute as it gets...

Violet skies by monzarchive

For now, it’s all about celebrations but George doesn’t think it could get better than this, his dream and the three people in the world he wants to share every moment of it with.

A different type of parenting fic, but equally as cute and fluffy.

The Soft Bois Anthology by AceEvans

In an infinite number of universes, there are an infinite number of moments. In every universe though, no matter how different the story, for George all roads lead to Alex

Not 1 fic, but 8 fics in one. A great variety of AUs, each as cute and as tender as the one before. Features an exquisite Royal AU, a great Teacher AU and a gorgeous cricket AU, which is not a sentence I ever thought I'd type...

Sad songs & Too much gin by fox_this_lap

Alex is done with Saturday nights. He doesn’t want to sing sad songs and drink too much gin anymore. No matter how dry it is, he still finds tears to shed.

Don't want to give any spoilers but just a sweet yet angsty ride with a happy ending!

Bonus rec because its Galex but a heavy side order of Lando...

Cyanotypes

And why do George and Alex have to be like that around each other all the time? It’s highly unpleasant and inconvenient how it makes Lando think when he wouldn’t want to.

Voyeur Lando fic, but it's Galex and it's hot and it's still worth your time!

[theartoflila]

[cyanotype] a new medium I have started working with. I love how I finally found a way to bring my photography to life. The process of cyanotype printing is so satisfying. Using the sunlight and cold water makes it all feel so real and human. The finish product is so beautiful and emotional somehow.

so far I've made patches and tote bags and I will soon do it on clothes too xxx

[salixsociety]

Local Flora, Folklore and Medicine

On connecting with the plant spirits of your land.

As a magical practitioner of any kind, or even as a pagan, there is major value in maintaining awareness of your surroundings. Though I preach that the responsibility of 'saving the environment' is not on the shoulders of the average non-billionaire, I do think we all owe it to each other and the world to know the plants we pick, get stung by, and walk on. Those are the same plants that offer themselves as food, medicine, clothing, and magical tool, but are generally met with a blind eye. So how do we get started with learning about them?

Acknowledging

I think as children we all passively learn about the plants in our environment. Grade school, our elders, TV. Kids in northern Europe learn about acorns, amanita muscaria toadstools, and chamomile. Kids in southern North America may learn about saguaros and sagebrush. Those plants are a great place to start. We learn to take them for granted as we get older, but they were the first you learned about for a reason! Their cultural relevance has stood the test of time. You can start looking into them just by googling - the internet has a surprising wealth of knowledge both cultural and conventional about the medicinal, nutritional, practical and spiritual applications of plants, especially those who have long-lived folklore. Wikipedia is a great jumping off point for further research.

Another excellent method to start, and this one may be my favorite, is to go to a local thrift store and pick up a field guide for your area/state/province/biome. There are many different kinds! There are those with small blocks of text and little b&w scientific drawings that are purely designed to help you quickly identify a plant. There are those that have color pictures and an elaborate description of where to find the plants and what they do. There are those that focus on wildflowers, those that focus on trees, those that focus on medicinal plants, et cetera, et cetera. Choose one that suits your needs. If you're a beginner interested in folk medicine, choose one with color pictures that focuses on medicinal plants, for example. Then carry it with you for a while, or go on walks with it! Look around, listen to music, and try to identify the plants that stand out to you.

Recognizing

Of course, going around and looking at plants may not feel like a productive way to get into plants. How will I remember what they look like and what they do? That is where folklore comes in. I will never forget the moment I learned why 'Devil's Bit' is called that. I had read that folklore had it the devil, in envy about the potent medicine in the root of the flower, had come up from below and bitten off the rootstock of every single flower. The first time I dug it up I could see: it really does look like someone took off the bottom of the root. And this goes for many many plants in our immediate environment. Many native Americans refer to narrowleaf plantain (plantago lanceolata) as 'White Man's Foot' because it grows along footpaths and was brought over by European colonizers. 'Monkshood,' really does look like the hood of a monastic. Herbaria If you are dedicated to your plant related magic, a herbarium will be very much worth the effort. It's a compilation of any kind (a notebook, a google doc, a binder) wherein you can collect all the information relevant to you. It is massively helpful to write down every alternative name you know, the medicinal properties you use, et cetera. A physical herbarium can also include pressed plant specimens or cyanotypes of them, and a digital one can have pictures taken from the internet. Making your own scientific sketches of plants is also an excellent way to learn much about them.

Understanding

A basic understanding of botany may prove very useful when you get a bit more skilled at recognizing your local flora. Understanding how they reproduce, which plants threaten one another, how poisons work, what plants are native and which are not, and how to perform basic processing styles such as extractions, infusions, distillations, will be a major step in both feeling like you understand the scientific part of the plant as well as its importance in your environment.

Connecting

This is by far the most individual part of this whole process. Your religious inclinations, spiritual views on the world, et cetera, will shape how this goes. For me, as an animist, I connect with plants by acknowledging that they are alive and have a degree of sentience. I use them in my practice both intact and not - I tie off my illnesses to trees, thank plants I use to stand on or pull myself up from, and speak to living plants just as much as I work with and revere ones that I have to uproot or process to make use of them. Someone that is not an animist may not find value therein, but instead in something else. The important part is to stay conscious. Pay attention to details. Be grateful that you get to witness their beauty and make use of their applications. Marvel at the great web of interconnectedness that both we and plants are a part of. Wonder what the existence of a plant does for you, even if it just is what it is. How does the kelp in the ocean benefit you in your daily life even when you aren’t eating it? It does, somehow, I can assure you. Some great rabbitholes to dive into if you are keen to feel connected to plants are how trees in a forest are all connected, about mushroom mycelia, about how what looks like many shrubs or trees may just be one after all. Mother trees and how they sustain all the trees around them are one of my very favorite topics. 

Practicing

The fun part! There are many ways to apply your newfound knowledge, and continuing to actively do so is the best way to keep learning. Safe and fun things to start doing immediately could include: - Processing plants for their practical applications, such as making rope or fabric from nettles, making baskets from willow twigs, carving musical instruments or sculptures from dried wood; - Making decorations in moderation, such as bouquets, wreaths, flower crowns; - Using them in small-time magic you will not be consuming. Many plants were said to ward off witchcraft, bad luck or bad spirits, and you can so easily hang a strawberry leaf above your door or keep an alder twig by your window; - Making art such as sketches, dyes, cyanotypes; - Harvesting small amounts and observing: I think we all remember picking dandelions as kids, noticing the latex flowing from the stems, and tasting it carefully. And there is more. I don't suggest doing this right off the bat, as you may do more harm than good in the beginning stages, but when you have learned a fair amount, feel confident in your ability to recognize a few plants, and frequently use some of your local plants in your magic, you could start stockpiling a bit. Take opportunities to gather herbs that are not endangered, bulk dry them, and store them in jars away from sunlight for use in the future. Please be sure to educate yourself on foraging etiquette and plant lookalikes! You may also grow a wish to assist your local environment by helping to manage invasive species. I highly encourage this! Educate yourself well on what the invasive species look like, how they behave, and how they are best eradicated. Be sure to be mindful not to get in the way of greater conservation efforts, though!

In conclusion: the wealth of the world is at your fingertips. Everything you need is where the nature is. Food, medicine, building material, warmth, fun, art, music, is all hidden in the sting of a nettle, the rustle of foliage, and the cushioning of a clover field. You are entitled to it all, so long as you stay grateful and conscious.

[lesbiankittie]

getting into textiles really is a slippery slope cause one moment you decide to learn crochet and then you have to learn how to knit and suddenly you’re wanting to make sweaters and sew your own clothes and make cyanotype prints on clothing but you’re too overwhelmed to do any of it

[jooniperbonsai]

Hi it's Berry, I saw your post about not writing, and how you've been struggling. I just want you to know, I love your works. I love what you've created so far, but I'm okay waiting for everything to settle before you can write again. But also just seeing the small bits and pieces that you've put on this blog I enjoy you! You are more then what you create and I want you to know that you matter even when you're not creating.

I kinda understand where you're coming from. Being a creative person myself I have put so much value on how much I can create, and how well received it's been. And when I don't reach those unreachable expectations my depression has a field day. Got my degree in English and I've been severely burned out ever since.

I hope you find peace, whether that's in a new job, or finding and affordable living situation that doesn't cost you, your mental health I hope you get that. Please know people see you, whether that is your writing or your posts. You are amazing!

You’re so sweet always 🩷. I’ve enjoyed this break, mostly because work has been soooo much, and I didn’t end up getting the job I wanted but it’s been interesting to see how I move through this era of life.

Creating can really be anything, which is what I’ve been doing in my downtime when I don’t want to stare at my computer screen.

These are some of the art making projects I’ve undertaken. I’ve tried natural dyes through hammering flowers from my garden, cyanotype, paper making, watercolor, watercolor pencil, bookbinding, acrylic, oil pastel, candle painting, gelli plate printing, watercolor on model magic, alcohol ink tiles, and linocut stamping (haven’t found my pic of my stamps in my camera roll). 😂 so it’s been busy but creation is happening

[k00290024]

Cyanotype Revisited

On Tuesday I collected these prints and prepared more sheets. I really liked how one print looked against my yellow sketchbook. Reflecting on this I prepared some yellow pages for cyanotype.

The pages that I printed on Tuesday came out differently to day 1. Some were a lighter blue and others looked streaky. I mostly liked this experimentation but I do prefer more control over the result.

On Thursday I tried the yellow pages. The contrast between the print and the papers colour stood out to me. I’ve prepared different coloured paper because of this. I am excited to see how the results evolve.

We used a mixture to remove the blue from the page. Then staining it in tea. I plan to use this effect in the future. I especially watching the colour fading.

The tea changed these prints drastically. Giving them a much older feel and sepia tones. It also faded the hands making them more ghostlike.

[watchingthecredits]

was just thinking about u and how sometimes I just randomly remember that u play piano and drums and that u make cyanotypes and I just go!!!!! <3 woah <3!!! my girl is so fucking cool <3 I'm so in love with her <33!!

augh oh myy god i love u so much whattt!! twirling my hair kicking my feet the girl i‘m in love with thinks i‘m cool… the coolest person i know thinks i‘m cool that’s so crazy <333

[lorutheneum]

diy shirt design inspo

tried out cyanotype print the other day on 2 knit fabrics, currently waiting for a sunny day for the dye to develop some more. in the mean time, i've been wanting some clothes that have nice, original designs; typically something you don't see at your average retail store.

on pinterest, i found some designs that i think i could take inspiration from and hand-dye/paint on plain t-shirts. simultaneously, i'll need to find a t-shirt that has a nice pattern/fit as a base.

in this design above, i like the contrast between the red and blue, and the hierarchy between the blue, red, and yellow that descends in amount respectively. one thing i learnt from doing digital art is that an equal balance between colours is not very pleasing to the eye. although i've never used it before, i could create this design using fabric paint and handmade stencils.

this design is pretty simple. could bleach a dark shirt with a paintbrush to create the fine lines. a 100% cotton content would help avoid the t-shirt from stretching and distorting the image while i paint.

i've been highly interested in designs that stretch beyond the front panel of the t-shirt and extend to the arms/back. this design reminds me of droplets of water or fingerprints.

this design mostly intrigues me because of how loose it is. almost like the ashes rising out of a campfire, the exterior of the design stretches freely. the crown on top of the person's head is also a key feature that i want to incorporate. like the first design, i could use fabric paints to make this.

diy-ing shirts lets me have a one-of-a-kind design that is exactly how i want it for only a fraction of a store-bought price.