Cyanotype of Rowan leaves #3

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Veronica Nicholson Photography
Unique handmade prints transferring nature and light onto paper. Magic! This series is celebrating Ireland’s native trees. The Rowan (Caorthann in Irish) or Mountain Ash has always been considered a tree of formidable magical and protective powers due to its bright flame-red berries. In ancient Ireland the importance of trees meant there was a series of laws governing their use and fines for damaging or cutting trees. For example for cutting a branch of an oak or an ash tree the fine was a year old heifer, but for removing the tree completely the fine was the value of two and a half milch cows. The laws recognised a hierarchy of four classes of trees or bushes: the nobles of the wood, the commoners of the wood, lower divisions of the wood, and bushes of the wood. The nobles of the wood are oak, hazel, holly, yew, ash, pine, and crab apple. The commoners are alder, willow, hawthorn, rowan, birch, elm and cherry. (Source: Niall Mac Coitir – Ireland’s Trees) Cyanotype printing is one of the oldest photographic printing processes in the history of photography. The distinctive feature of the print is its shade of cyan blue, which gives us the word blueprint. The process involves brushing on cyanotype sensitiser onto watercolour paper, arranging the leaves and exposing to ultraviolet light,  then washing in water to fix the image. Magic! Print size 8″x6″ Signed by the artist on the back. Ready for framing.