Art by Medium: Photogram

This unique multistep technique is a combination of a painting and a photograph or monotype. Cyanotypes are a kind of alternative photographic process from the 1800s. The chemicals are different from those used in black and white photography. The light-sensitive chemicals can be used to print blue and white photographs from a large negative or a person can capture the silhouette of solid objects rather like an x-ray in blue and white. In her Delft Garden series, artist Christine So first drew the outline of a plant in pencil and then painted it in a dark room —not paint– but with the cyanotype light-sensitive emulsion. When the painting had dried, she arranged plants on top of the painted silhouette in a pattern that would leave gaps like lace, carefully moved the entire bundle outside while still covered and then exposed the pattern multiple times at different angles to the sun, to achieve various shades of blue and white. The heavy cotton watercolor paper then needed to be thoroughly rinsed in order to stop the darkening process. The silhouette here is of the Giant California Tree...

By toning cyanotypes, using chemicals that turn the deep blue images to yellow, Craig's photographs fade and begin to disappear. Craig is curious about what happens when she stops the process at various stages, and when she lets the images ‘evaporate’ completely. Nothing lasts forever. Blue Gum trees, native to Australia, have survived for millennia by adapting and thriving in a climate where wildfires are common. Now invasive in many parts of the world, this 'gasoline tree' is a dangerous fire hazard, especially in the face of climate change, which is expected to make wildfires more common. White mat, framed behind glass in white wood frame, 14 x 17 inches Marie Craig’s photography considers objects that were once imbued with life but have since been abandoned. Juncture, Craig’s latest series, alludes to a turning point, the moment where a choice made profoundly alters the trajectory of what follows, whether evident at the time or not. She uses cyanotype, because in this early photographic process choice and chance factor equally into the outcome of each piece. Craig’s layered photographs...

#00135 Hypericum mutillum, Unique photogram, gum bichromate, framed This image is a unique photogram and is printed using Rives BFK, gouache, gum arabic, kitakata and ink. Pricing...

This unique multistep technique is a combination of a painting and a photograph or monotype. Cyanotypes are a kind of alternative photographic process from the 1800s. The chemicals are different from those used in black and white photography. The light-sensitive chemicals can be used to print blue and white photographs from a large negative or a person can capture the silhouette of solid objects rather like an x-ray in blue and white. In her Delft Garden series, artist Christine So first drew the outline of a plant in pencil and then painted it in a dark room —not paint– but with the cyanotype light-sensitive emulsion. When the painting had dried, she arranged plants on top of the painted silhouette in a pattern that would leave gaps like lace, carefully moved the entire bundle outside while still covered and then exposed the pattern multiple times at different angles to the sun, to achieve various shades of blue and white. The heavy cotton watercolor paper then needed to be thoroughly rinsed in order to stop the darkening process. The silhouette here is of the Giant California Tree...

By toning cyanotypes, using chemicals that turn the deep blue images to yellow, Craig's photographs fade and begin to disappear. Craig is curious about what happens when she stops the process at various stages, and when she lets the images ‘evaporate’ completely. Nothing lasts forever. Ferns are some of the oldest plants on earth. Ferns embody resilience. Many forms have come and gone since they first appeared on the planet; 10,000 species exist today, in tropical, temperate and arctic regions. White mat, framed behind glass in white wood frame, 14 x 17 inches Marie Craig’s photography considers objects that were once imbued with life but have since been abandoned. Juncture, Craig’s latest series, alludes to a turning point, the moment where a choice made profoundly alters the trajectory of what follows, whether evident at the time or not. She uses cyanotype, because in this early photographic process choice and chance factor equally into the outcome of each piece. Craig’s layered photographs...

In her Delft Garden series, artist Christine So first drew the outline of a plant in pencil and then painted it in a dark room —not paint– but with the cyanotype light-sensitive emu...

Marie Craig's 'Roiling’ is an original deep blue photograph of ocean waves partially obscured with fern leaves. This piece was created using...

Marie Craig's 'Buckeye’ is an original deep blue photograph of leaves from the Bottlebrush Buckeye tree. This piece was created using cyanotype, an early photographic process which u...

By toning cyanotypes, using chemicals that turn the deep blue images to yellow, Craig's photographs fade and begin to disappear. Craig is curious about what happens when she stops the process at various stages, and when she lets the images ‘evaporate’ completely. Nothing lasts forever. The Wollemi Pine, thought to be extinct, was known only from 200-million-year-old fossils until 1994, when the 100 ft trees were discovered living happily in the impenetrable forests of New South Wales. The personification of longevity and adaptability, this beautiful tree is critically endangered. White mat, framed behind glass in white wood frame, 14 x 17 inches Marie Craig’s photography considers objects that were once imbued with life but have since been abandoned. Juncture, Craig’s latest series, alludes to a turning point, the moment where a choice made profoundly alters the trajectory of what follows, whether evident at the time or not. She uses cyanotype, because in this early photographic process choice and chance factor equally into the outcome of each piece. Craig’s layered photographs...

This unique multistep technique is a combination of a painting and a photograph or monotype. Cyanotypes are a kind of alternative photographic process from the 1800s. The chemicals a...

#00146 Onoclea sensibilis, Unique photogram, gum bichromate, framed This image is a unique photogram and is printed using Rives BFK, gouache, gum arabic, kitakata and ink. Pricin...

#00128 Spiraea alb, Unique photogram, gum bichromate, framed This image is a unique photogram and is printed using Rives BFK, gouache, gum arabic, kitakata and ink. Pricing inclu...