RECAP: Seaweed Cyanotypes
February 10th + 11th 2024, Cannon Beach, Or
Who knew that seaweed art was going to be such a big hit?! The weekend of February 10th and 11th we hosted two sold out workshops making seaweed cyanotypes with Shifting Tides and Block Studio.
We started the day learning a little bit of history about the art of cyanotype print making along with the science and best practices from Sam of Block Studio. Sam is a woodworker and print maker in Cannon Beach. He specializes in photographic cyanotypes which take a lot more practice and precision than the ones we were making in class.
We learned that cyanotypes are actually where the term “blue print” came from. The first ever published book of cyanotypes was by Anna Atkins and was actually a book of seaweed specimens. So it is very fitting to use seaweeds as a focus when teaching this class. Simply put, cyanotypes are made with a combination of chemicals that when combined, become UV reactive and change color. If objects are placed onto the paper, blocking the UV light from touching the paper, you are left with a silhouette, creating an image.
Sam gave us a run through of the necessary materials, and told us how the emulsion was painted onto paper before class. This was done in order to make the process a little less time consuming, and because it must be done in a room without UV light, to prevent it from beginning to expose before we are ready to print.
Before moving on to making pieces of our own, we then chatted with Alanna of Shifting Tides (and Winter Waters co-founder) to hear about the art of pressing seaweeds. Pressing seaweeds is very similar to pressing flowers and leaves except that you have to take into consideration the moisture within seaweeds. You also want to make sure the seaweeds don’t completely stick to the paper and can be removed in order to use them as an object on your cyanotype prints. Some extra materials and steps are useful to ensure your seaweeds dry fully and don’t stick to the paper.
In class, we started with a pieces of paper with emulsion already dried onto them. Students got to choose their seaweed specimens and piece together their desired image before taking them outside and exposing them to the full light. Pieces were left outside for various amounts of time depending on the sun or overcast conditions. They then got washed in water and hung to dry.
It was so fun watching our wall fill up one by one with prints as people made their 5 prints to take home. There was so much variety in the seaweeds used and how they were arranged in the prints. We love that everybody got to learn a bit of this seaweed art history as well as have art to take home and remember this experience.
Thank you to Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring and for hosting us in your space!
