Sunprinting, Chapter 1

The transparency of my grandma and me.

I woke up this morning, a cold winter day in Cleveland, and the sun was shining brightly. I got excited, but not for the reasons you might think. I have been waiting for a day to do some sunprinting, and, even in the winter, today was the day.

I got up and quickly pulled a few items together. I have been working on a piece about my grandmother. Usually, I run to Kinko's or Office Max to get a negative transparency made, usually two of the same image to be sure the sunlight is thoroughly blocked in the dark areas. This time, I wanted to try printing it out on my very old inkjet printer, and happened to have a compatible transparency to use. It came out pretty well.

Although I want to try the newly reformulated Liquid Light, i.e. Jacquard Solar Fast, I already have some, albeit very old, pre-treated sunprinting fabric. I cut a piece to size in the dark, quickly ironed it in the dark, then pinned it to a board with the negative transparency on top. To take it all outside, I placed a piece of plain paper on top to keep the fabric from being exposed too much while I moved it.

The transparency pinned to the
sunprinting fabric

Everything covered with plain paper

I checked the timer feature on my phone, then ran out into the garage, where the sun was shining right into the doorway. In this part of the country in the winter, the sun is low and not as bright, so sunprinting can take a bit longer. On a hot summer day, 3 minutes of exposure is plenty. Today, I allowed 4 minutes, and checked it before allowing another half a minute. The only variable here is that my fabric is very, very old, so the print may not come out as desired. I also did not use a double transparency sandwich, so I may get a lighter print. No matter. I am seizing the moment! The print is drying now, so stay tuned to see how it turned out.

Yes, sunprinting in snow weather!

After exposure, the print is "set" by rinsing it in
lukewarm water until the water runs clear. Here
is the fabric on the drying rack. One it is rinsed,
it is "set". You can't wash out what was there. At
the drying stage, it may look like nothing happened.

Creating Layers in Art Quilts

The beginning stages of my piece, I Hear Voices

I use a lot of photographic techniques in my artwork, not because I am a terrific photographer, but because I work with layering. Using personal photographic images connects well with the intimate nature of my artwork.

I am not the gifted photographer in my family. My husband, who took the self-portrait in the I Hear Voices photograph, is amazingly talented, and very creative in his approach. My daughter, editor of photography books for Lark Books, has one of those very fancy, professional cameras, and creates the most amazing imagery. All of this is lucky for me, because I always have a source for imagery, and people who can help me manipulate the images for my own purposes.

I have taught Polaroid transfer techniques for many years, after learning how to do the process using my (okay, our) slides at the Cleveland Institute of Art. I bougt a Daylab, Jr. and went to work. Since Polaroid is discontinuing the manufacture of the film, I am desperately seeking new sources. I recently joined a group I found online, The Impossible Project. They are in Holland, and are trying to keep the film production going. I hope they are successful.

Chris, my Polaroid transfer on paper

Princess of Dun Aengus, my Polaroid transfer on paper

Now that spring has arrived, I am really itchy to do some cyanotype printing. Cyanotype printing is a very early photographic technique that has not changed much since it was developed in the mid-1800s. Chemically treated paper or fabric is exposed to sunlight and whatever objects or transparent images are placed on top serve as the 'negative.' While I have often used this process to print objects, I really like to utilize photographic negatives for the technique.

Cyan print on cotton of pebbles. I used a color photograph my husband took, enlarged it on a photocopier, then printed it onto a plastic transparency.

For the quilt shown below, I asked my husband to take a series of "body parts" pictures for me: ears, eyes, hands.

I used a cyan print of my hands, which was then layered with sheer silk organza, in the center of the piece.

My Hands Don't Look the Same Anymore, art quilt by Gayle Pritchard

Now that I have my garage studio space set up, I think I will do some more prints. Would you like to see how it's done?

Cyan print on watercolor paper. This greeting card is available in my etsy shop.