This cyanotype work was an additional piece to the exhibition. It wasn't really planned and came about really by chance.
I had been wrapping a frame in cotton thread, it was a really nice object itself, and my original plan was to use it as a canvas for a linocut print. I had been inspired by the wood blocks used in the lace making process to apply a design as a template for hand finishing the design.
However I didn't have a lino cut ready to use in time for the exhibition which was two days away at this point.
as I'd already made my main piece for the exhibition this work was intended to be additional research.
When Julian saw the cotton wrapped frame he suggested I use it as a base for a cyanotype.
I've been wanting to make cyanotypes for a long time but had not yet got round to it, I also didn't realise you could make cyanotypes on cotton I thought it was a paper photography process.
So I got some cyanotype chemicals and mixed them at home in my small bathroom that doesn't have a window. I had a nice lace trim that Id found in an odds and ends box in the Sue Ryder charity shop, It fitted perfectly onto the frame so I decided to use that.
The next day quite nice mellow autumn sunshine so I set my primed frame outside with the Lace and a piece of glass covering it for 10-minutes. I could see the colour change form a pale green to a darker blue. I rinsed it under the shower in cold water for a few minutes. The design became more vibrant as it dried. I'm really so pleased with the look of it and it is also very tactile, you can run your finger across it, it feels like lace, it's still very soft but it has changed its form from lace to threads, it has the feel of a exotic stringed instrument, I love the shade of sky blue against the dark wood frame.
Some online research into the use of cyanotype I discovered that Victorians used cyanotypes a blueprint to catalogue lace designs, they would send these design blues prints along tiny lace samples to potential buyers. This was a lot cheaper than sending a full length of lace to potential clients and and it really shows the detail of the design.
With this knowlege it feels really fitting to use this cyanoype process in this project.
Rather using it as a practical way of sending a design, though it does capture the design very well it also transforms its form into something more fluid into a decorative, framed piece of work, but more that its decorative aspect it is born from history of process and material used within the manufacture and distribution of Nottingham lace.
I'm now totally hooked on cyanotype process and the cotton wrapping method I came up with. I would like to make a large version of this and experiment more in this medium of cyanotype and textile.
See link below for a short video of the work:
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| A really interesting Instagram account documenting the lace making process I was delighted to learn that cyanotype was used as a way of sending a blue print of the lace samples that would be sent to potential buyers . |
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| Detail |
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| During instalation at Newstead |
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| Test print on linen |
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