Cyanotype Printing
Learn how to make cyanotype prints using a photographic process from the 1840s. (Cyan — blue — is the original “blue” in “blueprint.”) Affordable, forgiving, and easy, cyanotype is making a comeback, especially among artists and experimenters who want to escape the limitations of digital work.
We’ll be making prints of objects, so bring materials with interesting outlines – leaves, plastic containers, cut-out letters, lace. You can try making prints from digital images, but you’ll have to do some homework before class. (If you’re interested, let the teacher know.)
No photography experience is required. Materials will cost $5-10.
Location
Above the Bike Shop
2501 Champlain St. NW
Washington,
DC
Neighborhood: Adams Morgan
Access to this location requires climbing a flight of stairs.
Details
Bring some objects to make prints from. During class, we’ll make contact prints from objects. Flat, detailed items like leaves are great. Maybe try cutout paper, or lace, or diaphanous fabric. Sheets of letters on transparencies, perhaps? Jewelry? Bits of wire, or old gears? Experiment!
There’s a $5 materials fee, mostly to cover the cost of the tough, beautiful watercolor/printmaking paper that we’re using. Let us know if that presents a hardship.
It’s a hands-on class, involving chemicals that might stain. We’ll have gloves for you, but wear clothes that you can work in.
We’re a little tight on sink space. Some of you might not be able to print during class, but everyone will be able to coat and prepare paper. We’ll give you envelopes so you can take the paper home and print on your own.
Past event
Instructor
David Ramos is a designer, developer, and design educator. He works on projects that support entrepreneurs, advocates, environmentalists, and journalists. His professional practice encompasses interaction design, web application development, cartography, and information design. He teaches at American University, offering classes that integrate culture, code, and form. David is interested in landscape history and ways of interpreting the places that surround us.