Laura A. Jackett 

65 North Drive • Rochester, NY 14612 • (585) 225-0065 • laurajackett@yahoo.com • laurajackett.net

Program Title: Cyanotype Photography

Program Format:  Workshop

Length of Program: minimum 1.5 hours, can be extended

Audience limit: 15

Space Required: open room with work tables, sinks large enough to accommodate 10” x 11” inch paper or an outside faucet

Set up Time: 15 minutes

Equipment Needs: provided by instructor: light sensitive solution, plastic measuring spoons, brown bottles, plastic mixing dish, funnel, plate glass, rag paper or organic cloth, distilled water, foam brushes, mylar sheets, scissors, clear tape, black permanent markers, drying rack or clothesline

Other Special Requirements: copy machine that accepts transparencies or transparency maker (optional)

Course Description: Magic happens! Transform plain white paper into a rich blue photograph. No matter what your artistic interests are here’s an opportunity to free yourself from conventional restraints. This alternative photographic process is accessible, exciting and applicable to other mediums. There’s something here for everyone. No photo background is necessary to master this process.

Students will produce blue photographic prints on paper or cloth using Cyanotype, one of the earliest and most beautiful non-silver processes in photography. This workshop, photographic in nature, requires no darkroom or extensive equipment.

We’ll take something old and something blue and give it a new interpretation. These blue prints are made with the help of the sun so bring your sunglasses. Participants will coat paper or cloth with a light sensitive solution using a foam brush and work on their negatives. To make a negative, students may draw on a transparent sheet using a permanent marker, cut out and tape down pieces of old photographic negatives, or use the copy machine to transfer a previously created image to a transparent sheet. Participants will place their negative and interestingly shaped objects such as stencils on their now dry paper or cloth and carry outside to the sun. Exposure takes approximately five to ten minutes. For development, the paper or cloth is placed under running water for five minutes. Afterwards, the images are hung up to dry for about one hour. This workshop is a lot of fun!