Re: Cyanotypes

From: garimo (omirag@cruzio.com)
Date: Sat Dec 04 1999 - 04:00:19 /etc/localtime


Hi Judy
>Sorry to disappoint you, but if it is the "same as the peroxide bath" it's
>no intensification. Wanna bet? Tear a junk print in half, put half in the
>peroxide bath and half in the drawer. Compare the two dry prints in a few
>days. The peroxide oxidizes, or darkens immediately, what the air does
>more slowly.
I'm not being disappointed at all! It's true my comments didn't include
doing nothing other than just air drying the prints. I was just being
negative about putting my prints in bleach and offering an alternative,
because I think in the long run the clorox bleach has done damage
rather than added enhancements.
 Though I have never ripped a print in half and put half in peroxide
and dried the other half, I do know the final result will be pretty
much the same. But then a quick peroxide bath does give some instant
gratification by suggesting what the print will look like when it does
dry.

>There is some evidence that an acid bath does intensify though, I gather
>it does, tho I don't believe it til I've done it -- but so far I've not
>seen color changes be permanent.

What acid are you referring to? Is this the household bleach that was
mentioned?

>You'll get the same colors with tannic and sodium carbonate, even sodium
>hydroxide (other alkalis as well) without the smell. The staining of the
>paper base is generally from contaminated baths, try one shot and/or and
>good rinse between the baths.

The staining happened to all the prints, I wondered if it was because I
had mixed the tannic acid too strong... It did seem to be doing
anything...so I added more!

 I went up and checked out the open studio of the alternative class at
UCSC this afternoon. It was the best work done in the class... this
quarter many of the prints were VDB on cyanotype. They did good!

Garimo



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