Meet Mary Lee
After moving to Boone, NC in 2019, Mary Lee began creating cyanotypes in her backyard which allowed her to balance her other jobs (administrator and toddler mom) with a bit of creativity. Since then, her family has moved to Knoxville, TN where she continues to learn and create. Her hope in all things - be it administrative work, time with her family, or creating art - is to find beauty in this world and use it to point others to the beauty of the original Creator.
May you see and carry this beauty with you as well.
Many thanks to Olivia Norman Photography for two product photos featured on the homepage.
What is Cyanotype?
Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that utilizes the sun (rather than a camera) to print an image. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost way to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. The combination of two chemicals (ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide) is painted onto a surface and reacts to ultraviolet exposure, creating a silhouette of whatever item is placed between the chemicals and the UV rays. The process of rinsing the chemicals off the paper is the point at which the photogram fully develops and reveals a permanent image in its signature Prussian blue color.
Introducing additional chemicals and liquids, varying the amounts of sunlight and exposure time, toning the image after it is fully developed - these are just a few ways the classic blue and white cyanotype can be altered to create an unexpected and delightfully unique image that even its creator cannot accurately predict.
