Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 92

 Welcome to installment 92 of experiments in wet cyanotype. Today's excitement comes from my discovery of a patch of tall blue lettuce, Lactuca biennis. It's a native wild plant here in Pennsylvania, and as the name suggests, it's a biennial. In its second year it sends up a 6-10 foot tall flower stalk, with leaves descending in size as they rise, topped of with a set of small blue flowers. It has a history of being used medicinally, and is just plain cool to observe. I started with a print on a long panel of cotton sateen, using the standard cyanotype chemicals with just a touch of Solarfast solar dye.  

I made two smaller panels on some cotton I had with small woven dots in it. I will miss this fabric when it is used up.

Here are all the panels after exposure but before rinsing. They are always so dramatic at this stage.

Here are the finished panels.

I had good weather for printing, hot and sunny, and was able to capture a lot of the details in the toothed edges.

So pretty! I am pleased.

I've used these leaves once before, way back in 2005, for the eponymously named Tall Blue Lettuce. It was very popular back in the day.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to revisit this imagery. I'm also grateful for the advanced in digital photography since then! 

Tall Blue Lettuce

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 91

Time for another round of wet cyanotype goodness! I started with a large panel of cotton sateen and some peony leaves.

Followed by a medium sized panel of cotton, with small woven details, and some fig leaves.

Next up, some mineral paper prints using Virginia creeper leaves.

And then some more peony leaves, also on mineral paper.

For all of these I used a splash of Solarfast mixed with the cyanotype chemicals.

Here they are after exposure but before rinsing.

I love the effect provided by the woven circle details in this cloth.

They are so pretty and interesting at this stage. Most of those brown and rusty tones will be lost in the rinse.

Here are the finished prints. I got just the right shade of peony pink on this one.

The fig leaves are slated for a current work in progress. I'm happy with the turmoil happening at the top.

These stayed lovely and delicate.

And these peony leaves are bold yet tranquil. I never tire of these experiments because they turn out different each and every time.

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 90

More wet cyanotype goodness, this time with an assortment of oak leaves on mineral paper.

I also made some prints using pokeweed leaves, Phytolacca americana, on mineral paper.

I printed a large panel on cotton sateen using oak leaves, black locust leaves, and some of the ubiquitous Japanese knotweed. All of these were quick opportunistic arrangements, using leaves readily at hand. I used cyanotype solution with just a glug of Solarfast solar dye.  

Here are the prints after exposure but before rinsing. 

I can already tell at this stage that they are going to be complex and wonderful.

Here are the finished prints.

The backgrounds on these are giving me astrophotography vibes.

That bit of yellow on the bottom right of this cotton panel is making me very happy.

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