Odilia Bird FDA

 First attempt at silhouette cyanotype: For my final body of work I wanted the middle of my three wall hangings to be a silhouette of my own body. I wanted to do this to link my work more closely to my project theme, the images of liminal spaces on the other wall hangings would represent the surreal elements of the subconscious and dreams. These images showcase how out of place a person can feel in a dream and how confused they can feel when trying to recollect one. The silhouette would provide a more grounded aspect to the work, providing a physical connection for the viewer, the body would would link each piece together.  This first attempt was not successful at all, the silhouette was so faint that it can hardly be seen and I was wearing baggy clothes which makes the put-on look odd. The cyanotype mixture seemed to wash out very easily and with the final colour being a very pale blue and not the usual dark blue. I wonder if this is because the mixture I was using was quite ...

 Printing onto acetate and practice cyanotypes: Unfortunately, the printing facilities that I would usually use are not available so I had to go back to using the old printer that we have in the studio. I was quite concerned about this because my previous experience with making my own acetates hasn't been good. They always seemed to come out patchy or the ink wouldn't dry properly and run, sometimes they would get caught in the printer and come out bent. So I wasn't feeling too optimistic about this. I decided to print each image one at a time and not consecutively because this usually clogs up the printer and I found that by doing this I was able to get about eight relatively good acetate images to use. The only thing I would say about these is that they don't look as professional as when I get them done by the print shop. The ink is slightly more thin which lets a bit more light through so I will have to do some test pieces to make sure that they work properly. 

 Adding loops and testing how to hang the wall hangings: For the next stage of my work I needed to begin to figure out how I would hang my pieces on the wall for the show. After speaking to my tutor, she suggested that I add a simple loop at the end of the fabric that I can then put a piece of wood through to create some support, as well as one on the bottom of the piece to weigh it down so it hangs as straight as possible. Theoretically, I believe that hanging up the work would be fairly easy, as I would just need either a nail or a screw in the wall and some sturdy string attached to the wood so that I can hang the pieces.

 Printing photos onto acetate: To get these my images onto acetate I needed to alter them on photoshop first. To do this I inverted the image, changed it to black and white and then adjusted the contrast and shadows on curves to get the right degree of dark and light. I then sent these images to the print shop to get them printed out to a more professional degree.  I have alway thought that this process creates a very eerie image on it's own, without even needing to turn them into cyanotypes. I think that the black and white tones are effective at creating this uncanny atmosphere within an image, it not only makes the work seem old but also slightly unnatural. The quality of these acetates are good, better than when I print them from the studio printer and if possible this is how I will have them done from now on if possible. 

Hand stitching and comparing different colours: For the next step of this project I wanted to experiment a bit more with the colour of the thread that I would be using within my work. The more I looked at the neon yellow thread that I used the more I questioned if it was the best colour to use. I like the contrast and bold elements of this colour but I have a concern that this might take away and distract from the overall body of work. I decided to experiment with a pink, green and light yellow thread and I did a simple long stitch by hand. While looking at all three colours I can immediately tell that the green and yellow won't work, the green is too dark and blends in too much. It's the same case with the yellow thread, the thread is so pale that it looks almost white which unfortunately seems to merge with the lighter parts of the cyanotype. The best option out of them all has been the pink thread, the colour is different enough to provide a contrast and stand out and I thin...

 Natural UV cyanotypes: I wanted to have another go at using the acetate images to make cyanotypes after my failed attempt last time. This time I made sure to place them in a very sunny spot in my back garden and weigh down the corners of the acetates with some small rocks to make sure that they don't blow away. I then left them out for about half an hour, took them inside, washed them with cold water and left them to dry in the attic.  I believe that this attempt was very successful, the images came out so clearly and the detail is visible. Another thing I did that I think improved these cyanotypes was not scrunching them up to get the extra water out of them after washing them. When I used to scrunch them it would cause the calico have creases and wrinkles that were very hard to get out, even with and iron and this then caused the images to be obscured and ruined the details of the work. By laying them flat to dry I have managed to get past this issue and I am left with...