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Arts & Communication Creativity and cyanotype: Camera-less photography

3. How to make cyanotype artwork artists who have used this technique to develop art
4. Materials needed to perform the technique projects. The technical and conceptual possibilities that
5. Exploration of printing surfaces can be achieved using this medium were discussed and the
6. The film negatives questions related to photography were answered during
7. Intensification and toning the workshop. Subsequently, instructions on creating
8. Preparation of chemicals cyanotype artwork were provided.
9. Conservation and storage The participants received training on the chemicals

Based on this curriculum, a course plan was offered used in the process, and some cyanotype art projects were
to the school administration and headmasters from three analyzed. There was an open dialog on how these works
different art schools. The workshop was also offered in were created, and the themes and concepts that these
two communities located on the outskirts of the city of works seek to convey. Once the presentation was over,
Aguascalientes, Mexico. there was a discussion and a practical demonstration of
how to develop a cyanotype that had been left exposed in
3. Cyanotype in practice – workshop the sunlight.

The workshop proposal was accepted by the three art The practical demonstration was effective as it caught
schools: Taller Casa Comuna and LaBArte 344, both the attention of the students who were surprised to see how
located in old buildings within the downtown area in the exposed image emerged when it was washed under
the city of Aguascalientes, and Universidad de las Artes, running water, and some of them even described this
located in the old railway complex in the same city. The process as “something magical.”
sessions were conducted in accordance with the previously The second session began with the application of
presented schedule. Despite being bound by different chemicals to bond paper so that the participants learned
spatial qualities in art teaching, these three schools were about the process of emulsifying surfaces. This allowed
able to achieve all the learning objectives, by making small them to observe the differences between working with
adaptations and adjustments to the curriculum. watercolor paper and recycled paper. Later, transparent
As part of the class planning, we considered various paper and indelible black markers were used (Figure 1), to
contemporary studies as a starting point for exploring make negatives from drawings.
alternative surfaces, as this process encourages the The activity was enthusiastically received, despite the
discovery of esthetic possibilities in everyday objects . fact that most of the students did not know how to draw.
[10]
Therefore, we worked with recycled materials to identify This was because the transparency of the materials used
the utilitarian possibilities of incorporating them in allowed them to trace virtual and printed images as a base
[11]
cyanotype printing , either as a product, such as the cover for the development of the negatives. Once the drawings
of a notebook, or as an artistic piece that elucidates current were made, the students experimented using the negatives
issues using materials collected in the places where the as a base, adding objects such as plants, thread, and other
[12]
workshops were held. On the other hand, we made an materials.
approach to the manipulation of color by changing the
blue color of the pieces using tea and coffee to achieve sepia
tones . For this part of the process, we worked with only
[13]
organic materials in an environmentally friendly way and
avoid using substances that could present health risks to
the participants .
[14]
A total of 24 students who came from different academic
backgrounds, such as psychology, computer science,
industrial design, biology, visual arts, art management,
cinema, and literature, attended the workshop. The
diversity of this sample spurred the generation of different
points of view and approaches, thereby enriching the
dynamics and connection among the participants.
The first session began with a slide presentation
introducing cyanotype process, including a brief history
of cyanotype and a display of the work of contemporary Figure 1. Demonstration of cyanotype creation in the workshops, 2022.

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 4 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1453