Week Six - Cyanotype/ Argyrotype workshop

At the workshop we had the opportunity to create Cyanotypes and Argyrotypes.

These are done by painting plain paper with the chemical mix which is iron based, includes silver, and has to be mixed with distilled water. The paper is left to dry (we were impatient and used a hair dryer for all of them), covering the paper either right away with a negative printed on acetate and then taking it outside (covering it from light.. we used an envelope) to expose it, or taking it outside and then placing objects on it.

I tried both but preferred using my own images as negatives. It was very exciting to see the result, and compare it to the original! 

This is the original...

... and this is the Argyrotype.

We exposed the first images for twenty minutes, and were relieved to find out that the paper can't really be over-exposed. 

Afterwards, the images were washed either for twenty minutes in water and hung up to dry (for Cyanotypes), or they were washed for five minutes in water, then for three in Hypo Wash whilst agitating, and then for another thirty minutes in water, and then hung up to dry. After the first few tries we ignored the recommended times and hung them up when we felt the images were developed enough.
I really enjoyed this workshop! I found it so addictive that mine and Rachel's images were the first ones to be exposed and I was the last one to leave the darkroom.

Argyrotypes from the website for this week: