Encaustic Rose Cyanotype Mixed Media ACEO in mat

Details

This special image is made with both cyanotype printing and encaustic, and will ship with the mat and backing board as shown in the photos. Cyanotype is a very old type of alternative process photo or chemical printing. I love the blues this process makes under the sun, especially when mixed with encaustic. The third photo shows my cyanotype setup, printing in the sunshine. The fourth is the images after developing- I use the bathtub to process and the bathroom as my darkroom- then I cut the images into ACEO size. This cutting moves the images from recognizable pictures to abstract fragments. The encaustic, which is melted beeswax and damar resin, is painted on the images, melted again, then dried. This encaustic process has to be done outside, since the fumes are toxic. But when dry and properly cured, encaustic will preserve and protect an image for thousands of years. We still have some Egyptian portraits made with this process. After the wax is applied, the paper becomes translucent, so light plays off the surface and through the image in a way that can only be see with encaustic and cyanotype. This process takes two days. I finished with four little images I'm happy with. The price is for the encaustic image as shown and the archival mat and backing board. I will take care of shipping.