Sarah Sousa describes how she creates her images: The original photographs were my own, taken in various places. I then created negatives of the photos and developed them on watercolor paper that I pre-treated with cyanotype chemicals.The cyanotype photographic process is accessible to people without a darkroom. Cyanotypes are developed using UV light and fixed in water. I have a small UV lamp set-up in my studio. The tree print was first ‘bleached’ using soda ash which washes out the strong cyan blue and allows for other colors to be added.
This is a cyanotype from an original photo taken in mid-winter, picturing the dirt road leading to the farm beside my house. The wavy trackin the snow on the left was made by cows walking up and down the hill all winter. I liked the juxtaposition of the straight, manmadetrack and the meandering way of animals. The cow barn is at the top of the hill, out of sight, and their hay pile is in the foreground. You can just see a steer’s two horns at the bottom right where he sits on some scattered hay.
About the Author
Sarah Sousa is the author of five collections of poetry, including See the Wolf named a 2019 ‘Must Read’ book by Massachusetts Center for the Book. Her visual poetry and mixed media work has appeared in Tupelo Quarterly, Matter Press and New Delta Review. Find her at sarahasousa.com.
These are lovely and fascinating, offering a whole new way of “seeing”. Thanks for the tip about the steer’s horns…I would have missed that detail, and it really brings the scene into perspective. Nice manipulations!
Thank you Joyce! I didn’t notice those horns myself until after I made the print. He was hiding behind quite a bit of accumulated hay. I just really loved their wavy path. The hill can get quite icy, I think they were trying to mitigate sliding.
How fun to discover a surprise in your own photograph! I think that’s part of the joy of being any kind of artist. I grew up adjacent to farmland and a childhood friend and her husband are small farmers- veggies and cows; I will share your photographs with her.
Thank you Joyce, that’s sweet of you. Yes, the surprise is the best part. I think the art happens between the intention and the mystery.