Blue Ridge Mountain Art, Original Botanical Cyanotype, Nature Print, Dragonfly Christmas retailer Gift

These unique and original botanical cyanotypes were handmade on cold press watercolour paper with silhouettes drawn and cut by me, combined with plants gathered from my gardens or foraged from the forest in which I dwell in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

The materials are arranged on coated paper and exposed to sunlight; when making wet cyanotypes I lightly spray the paper with a vinegar solution and sprinkle spices on the surface before laying them outside under glass. Afterward they are washed in a spring water bath to remove the iron salt residue. The reveal begins here as they turn Prussian Blue when they dry, a truly magical process from start to finish with surprising results.

This creative process combines my love of plants and place and involves the use retailer of elements:: earth (plants and paper) + water + air + fire (sun):: making their creation a wondrous gift of joy to me, that is my pleasure to share with you!

They are 5" x 7" each; mounted with white matboard to fit an 8" x 10" frame.

Each comes in a cellophane sleeve.

You get one, please pick your selection from the menu. They make a lovely gift for a nature lover!

Note::
I photograph the cyanotypes that you see, colors may vary slightly due to screen differences.
If they look slightly crooked, it's due to the camera angle!

Please display them away from direct sunlight.


A bit about cyanotypes:

Discovered and named in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, 'cyanotype' from Ancient Greek for 'dark blue impression', the process involves the use iron salts mixed with water and applied to a substrate that reacts to sunlight or uv light, forming a blueprint.

Initially cyanotypes were used for reproducing technical drawings made by engineers and architects. It was a friend of the Herschel family, Anna Atkins, a botanist, who pioneered the use of cyanotype in the way that inspires me by placing algae on coated paper and exposing it to light, in effect creating the earliest botanical photograph. She went on to publish a book of photograms called "Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions" in 1843, known as the first photographically illustrated book that was published.