All you need is sun and shadows to (re)print a splendor of Spring blossoms.
Happy Spring! As flowers everywhere bloom in their full glory, we're amazed by the seasonal changes led by the natural wonders of sunlight.
Here at YS Notes, we're always thinking about the beauty of different materials and how they interact with light and shadows. Although we draw from different printmaking techniques to achieve visual balance on different surfaces, we're still inspired by the simplest and most natural form of printing - sun printing.
Sun printing is often known as cyanotype, a photographic process developed in the late 1800s. This process involves using a special paper that has been treated with light-sensitive solution that changes colors when exposed to sunlight. Negative or positive images can be obtained by blocking UV light from reaching the treated paper, so it's an easy way to capture the beauty of any opaque object that doesn't allow sunlight to fully pass through.
While cyanotypes are a quick and effective way to sun print, it's also possible to allow the power of the sun to work naturally over time and create images by applying strong sunlight to paper layered with an opaque image and sealed with a transparent layer on top. Alternatively, anything printed onto transparent paper can also create an image in its shadow as well. In this way, we are able to print beautiful images without any additional ink, chemicals, or processes.
There are endless ways to enjoy sun printing, but for us, our Dark Seasons card gives us an easy way to sun print thanks to the opaque cherry blossoms found on the surface of our transparent, recycled PET. By gently inserting a sheet of light-sensitive paper underneath the cover and placing the flowers under the bright Spring sun, we're able to sun print (and reprint) the image of cascading Spring blossoms time and time again.
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