oday I’m sharing another recent experiment I did with cyanotype. It wasn’t actually the first time I toned a cyanotype print with coffee, but I really liked how this one turned out, so I decided to share it here.
To begin with, I created this cyanotype on a day when I was also toning some stones and working on another watercolor piece. I’ll be posting that one soon as well, but that’s something for another post.
As for today’s piece, I wanted to use the leftover cyanotype solution so I wouldn’t waste it. I made a print using some small flower-shaped chickens. I exposed it in the sun for 20 minutes and then rinsed it, as usual, to remove the unreacted solution.
After rinsing, I let the paper dry for at least 24 hours, which is the ideal amount of time. Then I moved on to the bleaching process. It might sound strange to intentionally remove the blue tones from a cyanotype, but the idea was to explore new ways of working with this technique by using natural toners. For this experiment, I chose to work with coffee grounds.
To bleach the print, I prepared a hot water solution with sodium carbonate, which is commonly known as washing soda or used for adjusting pool pH. I submerged the cyanotype for about 30 seconds. It needs to be quick, otherwise the image might fade completely. After that, I rinsed off the remaining chemicals and placed the print in a hot water bath mixed with used coffee grounds. I used the same grounds from my recent daily coffees, again to avoid any waste.
Within a few minutes, I could already see the coffee starting to soak into the paper and shift the color of the image. Still, I like to leave it overnight to make sure the coffee has fully absorbed into the fibers of the paper and the toning becomes more even and rich.
After that, I just let the cyanotype dry, which took a few hours. While it was drying, I started preparing the frame I had in mind for it. I already knew which one I wanted to use — a vintage oval-shaped piece I had at home.
But I wanted to give it a little extra charm and make it feel even more special and personal. So I decided to paint stripes on the frame. I used masking tape to mark the lines, making sure the stripes would come out as neat and even as possible.
Once that was done, all I had to do was hang it on the wall and admire my new piece.
I hope you enjoyed following along. See you next time!