The magic is in its simplicity: just chemistry, sunlight, and water.

Last month, we joined forces with our sister service, Art Matters, to give people we support get hands-on with the cyanotype process – a beautiful 19th-century printing technique that uses sunlight and simple chemistry to create striking blue-and-white images.

This workshop was generously funded by the Don Ilman Legacy Fund.

After looking at previous cyanotype artworks for inspiration, our facilitator Angus began by mixing two chemicals in a light-proof bottle to create the light-sensitive solution.

The beauty of cyanotype is that it’s for everyone – you can create something striking with no training or artistic experience at all.

We gathered all sorts of objects for our designs – leaves, flowers, household items, camera lenses, paperweights, sea glass and even jewellery – and arranged them, ready to place on the paper once it was prepared. The beauty of cyanotype is that it’s for everyone – you can create something striking with no no training or artistic experience at all.

Using a variety of paintbrushes, we coated the paper with the solution before leaving it to dry (with a little help from a quick ‘blow dry’ with a hairdryer!).

Once the surface turned a pale citrusy colour, we carefully laid our objects on top and exposed everything to natural sunlight (luckily, the sunshine was on our side!).

As it was a breezy day, some of the lighter items were secured under a perspex sheet, clipped to a board with bulldog clips.

After about 15 minutes, the paper began changing from greenish-brown to blue. That was our cue to rinse the prints in trays of tap water.

As the water washed away the excess solution, the hidden designs emerged in vivid shades of Prussian blue.

It was a relaxing, creative session where science met art – and everyone left with a unique print to take home.

Cyanotype Step-by-Step

1. Choosing your materials –  You can use almost anything: leaves, flowers, household items, camera lenses, paperweights, sea glass, and even jewellery, lace, or clothes pegs! One tip: if you’re working with foliage such as flowers or leaves, make sure they’re dried beforehand (an old atlas or encyclopaedia works just as well as a flower press). This helps prevent moisture from bleeding into the solution.

2. Prepare the solution – You mix two chemicals (ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide) to create a light-sensitive solution. Keep this is a light-proof bottle and it will last until your next foray in to cyanotype!

3. Coat the surface – Brush or pour this solution onto paper, fabric, or another porous material (It will even work on ceramics) and let it dry in the dark:  Use a box to cover the paper until you are ready to place your pre-arranged design on top. Masking tape will give you a clean, sharp edge or use a worn brush if you’d prefer a rougher, more organic edge.

4. Expose to UV light – Place objects, drawings on acetate, or negatives on the coated surface, then expose it to sunlight (or if it’s winter, another Ultraviolet light source). The UV light reduces the iron salts where it hits, creating the classic Prussian blue colour.

5. Rinse and develop – Wash the print in plain water to stop the reaction and reveal the final blue-and-white image.
   Hang on a ‘washing line’ to dry (Please take care – the floor will get wet below it!)

Reporting  Chon Donnelly

Photographs Becky Freeman and Chon Donnelly