Cyanotype & Bleach Exploration

A main idea behind this project was exploring how I can represent myself without showing a face, but rather the back of my head! Instead of a normal self-portrait, I focused on the back of my head and the lines and movement of my hair. I chose to draw my braid because I feel like it captures myself and a common hairstyle I wear. It showed who I was in a quieter, more abstract way. The cyanotype process also added some depth and mystery with the deep blue tones and faded colors. While creating this, we also worked on a bleached t-shirt design. This piece was more experimental and fun to try out! I enjoyed this material because bleach removes color instead of adding it, so we worked with the negative space. It was cool exploring in both projects how light and exposure can change materials and transform pieces.

For the cyanotype, I started with a graphite drawing capturing realistic details in my braid and the texture of my hair. Graphite let me deepen contrast and layering, which helped when I inverted the image for printing. After that, I printed the reversed image onto transparency film and used cyanotype liquid on both watercolor paper and ceramic. I also used markers to extend my ceramic piece. The bleach shirt was made differently and I painted directly onto a black shirt with a bleach mixture, letting the chemical reaction create lighter and white areas.

I began the cyanotype piece by brainstorming a few options of hairdos and then decided to take a photo of the back of my head and used it as a reference for my final drawing. I used a graphite pencil to build up layers of shading and texture, focusing on the highlights and dark areas of my hair. Once I completed the drawing, I scanned and inverted it, turning it into a negative for the cyanotype. I exposed the image onto paper under UV light, experimenting with different patterns and backgrounds I created with the cyanotype liquid on the paper. I enjoyed repeating this process and producing different results every time. For the bleach shirt, there was less planning. I sketched a rough design on paper and went for it on the fabric. After painting with the bleach solution, I set it outside to react in the sun and then rinsed it in hydrogen peroxide.