Category: Art projects

I completed #the100dayproject for the first time in 2021 where I decided to ‘print something everyday’ (you can read about it here). This year I have taken up the challenge again and I’ve chosen to print 100 4″x6″ photograms*.

*Photograms are created by placing objects directly onto photo-sensitive paper and exposing them to light. They use a camera-less photography technique and so don’t require a camera, film or an enlarger to create.

I was first inspired by Man Ray’s Rayographs and Mohly Nagy’s photograms while studying photography at Uni. I loved developing b&w photographs and would happily spend many hours in a darkroom.

My recent exploration into cyanotypes (also influenced by Man Ray and Moholy Nagy along with Karl Blossfeldt and Anna Atkins) has enabled me to develop similar photograms using UV light and water.

To make the process easier I made a mini darkroom in my house by converting a small utility room (that has no windows). I added a red safe light and a hanging line and I was able to develop my cyanotypes there.

To take this a step further, for the 100 day project, I have bought photographic paper and black and white darkroom chemicals.

I’ve started my 100 day project with a botanical theme. Last year I divided the 100 days up into 10 x 10-day series, which worked really well for me, so I will do this again this year. I’ve also realised that darkroom developer doesn’t last very long once it has been mixed (2 days max), so I plan to make 10 prints in one darkroom session. Below is a selection of prints I made in the first session…

My challenge started on Sunday 20 February and will end on Monday 30 May. You can follow my daily postings on Instagram #100daysof4x6photograms).

I’d been given a set of old encyclopedia volumes to use for collage, as altered books or even to recycle as handmade paper. I decided I’d give handmade paper-making a go.

I was intrigued as I’d been told that due to the age of the books, and the way they had been printed, that the letters were likely to stay intact rather than blend into a mushy grey (which digitally printed papers are more likely to do).

So I started by tearing a few pages out of the books and ripped these into smaller pieces of paper. I left them to soak in a bowl of water for an hour or so before using an old kitchen stick blender (no longer used for food!) and blended the paper into a pulp.

I experimented with a few different types of mesh for creating the sheets of paper. Then after watching a few online videos I found that car bodywork repair mesh worked brilliantly!

So I dipped the mesh into the watery/pulp and pulled it out, this gave me a layer of pulp on the mesh (the amount of water in the pulp affects how thick the paper will be: less water = thicker paper). I then needed to press out as much liquid as I could. Once I’d done this I flipped the mesh over and released the sheet of pulp onto a Jay cloth. I added a second Jay cloth on top to create a ‘sandwich’ and then repeated the process.

The process was really successful (once I got the hang of it), and I was able to make quite thin sheets of paper. It was easy to build up a ‘sandwich’ of 10-20 sheets (this will depend on how much pulp you’ve made). I also like rough edges, so I didn’t worry about giving the paper straight edges, but this could be done by placing a frame onto the mesh before pulling out the pulp.

I really liked how the letters were visible on the paper. The level of detail in the lettering is affected by how long the paper is blended for. The less time spent blending = more definition in the lettering.

The next step now is to try blending different types of paper (basically I’ll be rummaging through my recycling paper bin for junk mail and packaging), this will hopefully add more colour and images to the paper. Plus I’d like to add seeds and petals and…the list goes on!

I started the 100 day project on 31 January 2021 and completed it on 10 May 2021. Wow 100 days! It sounded like a long time when I started, and May seemed like such a long way off. And yet, here I am, and the project is finished. In reality the time flew by and I had a lot of fun along the way.

At the start of the project I made the decision to break down the 100 days into 10 mini-projects. And having decided I would print something everyday, I chose a different print method to explore every 10 days. I think this really helped to keep me motivated and to keep the project interesting.

Here is a selection of the prints I made:

You can view the full project on Instagram at #100daysofmarkmakingwithprint and read more about the 100 day project in my earlier blog post.

I really enjoyed something about each printing process and would find it difficult to choose a favourite. I plan to take some time to reflect on what I have learned in this process and to notice what I enjoyed the most (or didn’t enjoy!) as I decide the next steps in my printmaking journey. Do you have a favourite printing method?