sunprints * part one

for years i've been wanting to do sunprints, and one day last month everything seemed to align just right: 

one day off + a sunny day + a hankering to be creative + one very zen deck = sunprint success!

the only other things needed were a bowl/tray of water, and finding some fine plant specimens from the yard, which was half the fun.

 

to make the sunprint, you just need to place an object on top of the sunprint paper, blue side up, and then hold it in place by covering it with the acrylic sheet. leave it to cook in the sun for a few minutes, then you are ready to give it a bath in some clear water for only a minute.

once immersed in the water, you'll see the print begin to develop. 

it was fun poking around the yard looking for just the right "designs" to use for my prints. here i used italian and curly parsley. the little purple flowers in the photo at the top are from my catmint plant.

i was particularly taken by this lovely greenery, which appeared to happily be living in its own weed patch in the shaded corner of the yard. the shape very much reminds me of a lotus flower, so i made several prints with this one.

i laid them on the deck to dry, one by one as they came out of their water bath, and enjoyed the decorative feel my deck was taking on.

 then i apparently started to lose my zen focus, and was printing anything within reach of my little creative station on the deck. pokey is always close by as he monitors all progress of the potted tomatoes, herbs, and snap peas. good pokey.

 

now that i have a nice stack of these lovely prints, i haven't quite decided yet what to do with them, but i assure you when i do, i will post a "part two."

the sunprint kits come in two ways: one that has a dozen of the print paper sheets plus an acrylic piece that is helpful, and the other kit is a refill of another dozen sheets of print paper. it also comes in a set of full-size sheets, which will be my next session out on the zen deck. i hope you get a chance to try this - it was very calming, and i always feel rewarded when i can be outside on a sunny day AND crafting. bliss indeed.