Cyanotype onto calico test pieces:

for the first stage of my project I really wanted to try and created cyanotypes on some new materials and fabrics, to do this I cut up pieces of calico into varying sizes and set up a table in the brightest spot in my back garden. I decided to gather a mixture of flowers and leaves from my garden and placed them on top of the calico and left them all out in the sun for about half an hour until they were fully exposed. I ended up with five cyanotypes, when looking at them I noticed that the sun had managed to get underneath some of the leaves and flowers causing the images to be slightly faded with blurred sides. The edges has a fuzzy aspect to them and I think that this allowed the subjects to seem softer and gentle. On each piece the images seem to fade in and out with some areas standing out more and contrasting the darker blue of the background, and I believe that this effect invokes this surreal and dreamlike atmosphere within the cyanotypes. In terms of the compositions, these test pieces were done quickly without much care or though to where I was placing each leaf and flower. I wanted to have a decent mixture of lengths and shapes on each piece of calico and had them spread out so that none of them were to close together as I didn't want the cyanotypes to seem to crowded. However, I do think that the larger cyanotypes seem a bit sparse and they could have benefitted from some more flowers being added to lessen the empty space. 

When it comes to colour and tone I think that these cyanotypes are a particularly dark blue, I am unsure whether this is due to me using cyanotype mixture that I made up about two months ago or whether it's because I left them out in the sun for a longer period of time. I think that the deep tones always add a depth to the work that can't be replicated. The royal blue makes it seem as if you are peering into the deepest depths of the ocean or looking out into the endless night sky. 

When I first created these pieces it was my intention to practice and experiment so that I could eventually make a series of wall hangings made from three large pieces of calico, however, after laying out each piece next to each other and experimenting with putting them in different compositions I realised that I quite liked the idea of creating a series of patchwork wall hangings where there are a variety of smaller sections all stitched together to create something on a larger scale. After a peer review with my course mated I discussed these ideas with them and some even suggested collecting objects from my own and others dreams and creating cyanotypes of them to add to this patch work, or to create a cyanotype of my own sleeping silhouette. I really love all of these ideas and I found that having this review opened up new avenues for me to explore and experiment when it comes to dreams and the subconscious. 

Moving forward with this project I would like to focus primarily of photography, cyanotypes, sewing and lino printing. I want to gather a series of peoples dreams and incorporate them into my work, not only will I create cyanotypes about these dreams but also make Lino prints depicting object taken from these dreams and print them onto these cyanotypes.