Embroidered Cyanotype

Artist's Statement:

Jillian Wight

Medsker

AP Art and Design

4 October 2022

This project gave me a unique opportunity to explore a totally new medium. I think that cyanotype prints look so funky, and I wanted to take advantage of this crazy style and draw something equally as freaky. I created an image of an old lady dressed as a bug because recently I've been incorporating a lot of images of old people into my work. Bugs also inspire me, so I wanted to combine these two images. For the second print, I just wanted to explore perspective in a way I hadn't before. I'm really happy with the result!

I used a sharpie to create the transparencies for my original cyanotype prints. I wanted to try to use the brushstrokes of the markers to create a texture, especially on the tongue in my second print. I then placed these transparencies in the sun, and when the prints were complete, used a yellow needlepoint thread to embroider some highlights onto each image. I wanted the yellow to contrast with the blue in a way that looked a little grimy, but also a way that created a glowing effect. I think this was successful!

I experimented quite a bit with this piece. The first area I needed to revise was the exposure of my sun prints. My original prints came out super dark and thin, they were really hard to see. I thought about using embroidery to make them pop but eventually decided to redo my prints and let them be exposed for only a few minutes. This worked a lot better, I was really happy with the result! And the texture of the sharpies really came through. I then had to experiment with the shape of my final works because I wasn’t sure how to frame the first print so that the lady was emphasized. After playing around with needlepoint thread, I was happy with the highlights I’d brought out but found that the old lady’s face was a little lost. I tried adding red thread but found it distracting. I decided to cut the piece in a way that better accentuated the subject’s figure. I’m really pleased with the way these came out!

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