Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Sunprints, Sunflowers and enough Sun?

We all wish and wait for the summer, at least I do! Our weather has been tough to reckon with though lately. So, in the spirit of keeping my chin up when the days got hot I found a fun sun related project. Timed perfectly to coincide with the blossoming of my summer sunflowers as they turn their faces to the sun & I duck for cover...the sun is a powerful force to play with for sure.



Sunprint kits are so much fun...but there is a trial and error process! This pack came with 12 sheets and I wish I had 50. Once you do one and see the outcome, you want to make more and more.


The coated paper is exposed for a very short time - 1 to 5 minutes. It is up to you to find unique imprint materials. These are the obvious ones...flowers or dried flowers make great subject matter.


A piece of plexiglass comes with the kit and helps protect the subject matter from blowing away. I learned that lesson immediately when my first try fluttered away before a sunprint was possible! I was not keen on the shadow the plexiglass cast but compromised and worked with the shadows.


 Back to the sunflowers – these were all planted from seed per my daughter Claire's request. We waited and watched the seedlings survive rain, drought and infestations around them. They are strong! They are bold, they are refreshingly optimistic and we love them!


Sunprints again! After exposing the paper you immerse the print in water to stop the process. Let dry on paper towels and wait....the deep blue develops over the next 24 hours. You can see here I  tried lettering on the plexiglass. So many options and ideas....but running out of paper!


One dried, one wet print. See the dried dragonfly imprint? I didn't kill it, I swear. It was lodged in the grate on the front of a car, promise. I wouldn't kill anything for my sunprints.


Drying prints. They call them sunprints but I think they look like moon prints. Against a twilight blue background the shapes of flowers, dried herbs, old negatives and dragonflies seem ethereal. I will mount them all with a small white border against a black sky backdrop. 


One more sunflower...the profile of a beauty! They can take this much sun. I can't!

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