This was a Cyanotype Drop-in Session I ran at Cardiff Print Workshop. After my short introduction about the history and process of cyanotype printmaking, participants experimented with a variety of objects and techniques to produce interesting, abstract photograms.
![20170820_143121[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170820_14312111.jpg?w=300&h=195)
Jenny syringing water designs onto the surface before exposing
![20170820_145619[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170820_1456191.jpg?w=209&h=300)
Derek’s space-inspired piece using glass beads, agate, seeds and water.
Rinsing the pictures after exposure
In preparation for the drop-in cyanotype session I’m running on Sunday at Cardiff Print Workshop, I arranged some plant life and other things onto coated paper and left it to make its mark in the sunshine. Here are the results.
![20170815_194301[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170815_1943011.jpg?w=174&h=243 "20170815_194301[1]")
![20170815_170800[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170815_1708001.jpg?w=174&h=259 "20170815_170800[1]")
![20170815_175807[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170815_1758071.jpg?w=106&h=147 "20170815_175807[1]")
![20170815_175318[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170815_1753181.jpg?w=106&h=182 "20170815_175318[1]")
![20170815_175322[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170815_1753221.jpg?w=106&h=169 "20170815_175322[1]")
![20170815_175328[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170815_1753281.jpg?w=384&h=506 "20170815_175328[1]")
![20170805_153455[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170805_1534551.jpg?w=334&h=334&crop=1 "20170805_153455[1]")
![20170805_152355[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170805_1523551.jpg?w=334&h=334&crop=1 "20170805_152355[1]")
![20170805_153119[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170805_1531191.jpg?w=202&h=300)
One giant banner of tracing paper transferred onto the prepared paper for exposure by the sun (which happily obliged, despite rain forecast).
![20170805_160036[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170805_1600361.jpg?w=166&h=331 "20170805_160036[1]")
![20170805_161004[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170805_1610041.jpg?w=278&h=331 "20170805_161004[1]")
![20170805_161138[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170805_1611381.jpg?w=220&h=331 "20170805_161138[1]")
Detail after being hosed.
![20170805_161253[1]](https://sarahjfeatherstone.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170805_1612531.jpg?w=676)
New cyanotype.
Cyanotype collages
Cyanotypes on vintage music manuscripts
Cyanotype Flower Mandala
Cyanotype and photogram on canvas
I came across some impressive street art in Prague, particularly the Lennon Wall. Apparently, young Czechs would write grievances on the wall during the communist regime in the 1980s, leading to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The movement these students followed was described ironically as “Lennonism” and Czech authorities described these people variously as alcoholics, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western capitalism. The wall continuously undergoes change and the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paint. Even when the wall was repainted by some authorities, on the second day it was again full of poems and flowers. Today, it represents a symbol of global ideals such as love and peace.
