A cyanotype is a photographic printing technique, made using sunlight, that results in a cyan-blue print.
The process was discovered in 1842, and has been widely used by artists and photographers, but also engineers, as a way to create affordable copies of technical drawings.
Anna Atkins is considered to be the first woman photographer, and published a beautiful book called Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, documenting the shapes of her local seaweed varieties. With our kit, you can use the exact same technique to create your own blue artwork with plants.
We’ve created a detailed video tutorial to show you the technique.
The 200ml of emulsion is plenty to expose not only the included 24 sheets, but also much more. You can then also try it on your own paper or textile (natural fibers such as cotton or silk). The components in powder form can be kept for many years. Once mixed, each bottle of solution can be kept (separate) for a year or so.
The kit contains :
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- 200ml of cyanotype emulsion – in powder form, just add water.
- A glass contact frame
- 24 sheets of assorted papers with different textures
- a foam paintbrush
- a measuring cup, mixing cup and disposable gloves