Library cyanotype project connects community
Cathie Carpenter, Joyce Brodsky, Sandy Ramee, and Tom Vranich participated in Monday’s wet cyanotype workshop at the Elk Rapids Library. Photo by Barb Mosher
By Barb Mosher, Contributing Writer
In an effort to foster connectedness and creativity, the Elk Rapids District Library has been offering dry cyanotype kits to be completed at home and returned with the goal of draping the building’s porch room with a community “flag chain,” the results of the alternative photographic process.
More than 80 cyanotypes now hang there, and project organizer and library assistant Marianne Priest is pleased with the community’s participation in helping celebrate World Cyanotype Day on September 26.
“People have really loved it, and many asked for more kits,” she said, adding that those returned to the library by September 24 would be included in the display.
Cyanography, also known as sun printing, is a photographic process that reproduces images on chemically treated surfaces, most commonly paper or fabric. After exposure to the sun, silhouettes remain on the cyan-blue background. While the technique was developed in 1842 by scientist Sir John Herschel for reproducing engineering and architectural drawings, botanists also began using it to document plant life.
Creating cyanotypes with both dry and wet techniques has become a popular creative practice as well, Priest explained, because it’s simple enough for anyone to achieve fascinating and beautiful results and yet has limitless possibilities that intrigue serious artists.
“I’ve always been a photographer and I knew cyanotypes existed, but I wasn’t crazy about them,” she said. “Then a friend did the wet cyanotype, and I read and watched videos and decided to try it. I was hooked.”
Priest hosted a wet cyanotype workshop Monday, a process that differs from the dry cyanotype kits completed at home. Participants experimented with painting the chemical mix onto watercolor paper and immediately placing on it a variety of flat objects — leaves, flowers, and other foliage mostly.
They then applied additives like vinegar, salt, and turmeric to impact color and texture before sandwiching the project between its cardboard base, cling wrap, and clear glass. As the chemicals and additives reacted to each other and to the sun’s rays, each cyanotype began developing into a unique piece of photographic art.
“It’s totally addictive,” Priest said about both dry and wet cyanography. “The results are always different, and you don’t know what they’re going to look like until they emerge.”
The library is currently open by appointment only. To schedule a visit to view the cyanotypes displayed in the library porch, call 231-264-9979.
In an effort to foster connectedness and creativity, the Elk Rapids District Library has been offering dry cyanotype kits to be completed at home and returned with the goal of draping the building’s porch room with a community “flag chain,” the results of the alternative photographic process.
More than 80 cyanotypes now hang there, and project organizer and library assistant Marianne Priest is pleased with the community’s participation in helping celebrate World Cyanotype Day on September 26.
“People have really loved it, and many asked for more kits,” she said, adding that those returned to the library by September 24 would be included in the display.
Cyanography, also known as sun printing, is a photographic process that reproduces images on chemically treated surfaces, most commonly paper or fabric. After exposure to the sun, silhouettes remain on the cyan-blue background. While the technique was developed in 1842 by scientist Sir John Herschel for reproducing engineering and architectural drawings, botanists also began using it to document plant life.
Creating cyanotypes with both dry and wet techniques has become a popular creative practice as well, Priest explained, because it’s simple enough for anyone to achieve fascinating and beautiful results and yet has limitless possibilities that intrigue serious artists.
“I’ve always been a photographer and I knew cyanotypes existed, but I wasn’t crazy about them,” she said. “Then a friend did the wet cyanotype, and I read and watched videos and decided to try it. I was hooked.”
Priest hosted a wet cyanotype workshop Monday, a process that differs from the dry cyanotype kits completed at home. Participants experimented with painting the chemical mix onto watercolor paper and immediately placing on it a variety of flat objects — leaves, flowers, and other foliage mostly.
They then applied additives like vinegar, salt, and turmeric to impact color and texture before sandwiching the project between its cardboard base, cling wrap, and clear glass. As the chemicals and additives reacted to each other and to the sun’s rays, each cyanotype began developing into a unique piece of photographic art.
“It’s totally addictive,” Priest said about both dry and wet cyanography. “The results are always different, and you don’t know what they’re going to look like until they emerge.”
The library is currently open by appointment only. To schedule a visit to view the cyanotypes displayed in the library porch, call 231-264-9979.
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