Rhapsody In Blue CYANOTYPE ARTIST CREATES ETHEREAL IMAGES
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Linda Clark Johnson Photo by Linda Smolek
n image of a fern emerges from the darkness like a majestic shadow. Delicate legs of a lily of the Nile float on the plane as though submerged. Leaves of bamboo shudder out of focus on a field of blue and green. These dreamy botanical images are the work of Linda Clark Johnson, a multimedia artist who specializes in cyanotype, one of the oldest forms of photography. English botanist Anna Atkins pioneered the process in the 1840s to document botanicals. Scientist and astronomer Sir John Herschel used the technique to create 19th century blueprints. The process entails mixing potassium ferricyanide and ferric ammonium citrate, applying the photosensitive solution to paper or cloth, placing an object on the surface and exposing it to the sun. The reaction between UV light and the solution produces a pigment known as Prussian blue that remains after development. This gives the print its characteristic aqua hue. “When I first saw (cyanotype), the color blue was so gorgeous and rich, I thought I have to try this,” says Johnson, who teaches and works out of her converted garage studio near UC Davis Medical Center. “It’s become a total love affair.”
JL By Jessica Laskey Open Studio
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