Sketch-a-Day December | Week 2

Here's my week two post of my sketch-a-day. On day 8 I traveled home for Christmas break and started out the week strong with some drawings that I really like. But you can see towards the end the time I spend on each is getting shorter. This next week that I'm currently on is especially sad, but I did get something down everyday which was a success. Here's to a new week!

Film Friday

A couple weeks ago I sent off four 35mm rolls to Indie Film Lab for developing. Two of them I couldn't remember what was on them, which makes it more fun. One of the rolls was from at least five or six years ago.

For school I've been shooting a lot of Ilford HP5 which is black and white film and recently I've been attempting to do more color. Most of this is fujifilm superia 400 which is a cheaper film. I love the colors in film and the richness and depth in each picture.

I have a few more photos from these rolls I'll be sharing soon.

Sunlight Printing

I got this sunlight print kit years ago (like 6-8 years ago) from my mom on my birthday. The other day I finally decided to pull it out and start using it. The process was easier than I thought it would be.

Prep:

- Fill a pan (larger than paper size) with water. 

- Put in a few drops of lemon juice/citric acid. This is optional. The citric acid will make the blues richer and darker.

- Lay out a few paper towels to dry the prints on.

After preparing the water, have the items you would like to expose on the paper. It's best to use flat items at first to get an idea of what the imagery will look like. I took the paper out and prepared everything inside in a darker part of my house. That way I wouldn't have any accidental bits of light expose it before it was ready.

I used some ferns I had in my journal from last summer's trip to Prince Edward Island. I also crumbled bits of an eggshell on top. In the kit's book they suggest using the back of the box and the clear plastic top as a platform for the paper and items as you can see. This helps to keep everything contained and easier to move around.

 

 

Once everything is in place, take it outside and let it sit in direct sunlight. Make sure you don't cast your shadow on it otherwise it will show up on the image! Let it sit for anywhere between 30 seconds to a few minutes. It may take longer if it is a cloudy day. The paper will begin to turn a very light blue or almost white when it is ready.

After a few minutes, take it back inside and take off the plastic and pressed items. Put the paper in the water. Agitate the paper a few times by rocking the pan gently. Let the paper sit for 30-60 seconds. Lay the paper on the paper towels and let it dry completely.

The citric acid in the lemon juice will make the paper a dark rich blue.

Here are some of the results.

I really enjoyed playing around with a few different designs. I'm excited to do some more especially with different objects.

What would you like to try printing??