2024 Season’s Greetings Card

This year, we thought of doing something a bit different that would:

- bring our community together 
- unleash our creativity (we may not be artists but scientists and health professionals can be super creative!)
- result in beautiful and unique artistic images that could be shared with you!

For the creation of this collaborative card we used cyanotype - a photographic printing technique invented by John Herschel (1792-1871), a mathematician, astronomer, chemist and experimental photographer who developed this technique to find a way to copy his notes.

Curious to know more about the process behind the creation of our 2024 Season’s Greetings Card?

Preparation
Choose thick watercolour paper.
Wear gloves and place some sort of protection on the table.
Mix the chemicals in a container.

Coating
Apply to paper with a sponge brush.

Drying
Let the paper dry for around 10 minutes.

Composing
Place objects on top of the paper.
For this card, we asked our community to choose small objects that are associated with this season, or that reflect their roles at the Champalimayd Foundation, or that will cast a cool negative (empty) space!
For this step, if needed, use tape to fix the objects and/or glass on top.

Exposing
Start exposure to UV lights (or sun, weather permitting).
This step should range from 5-15 min, but once the paper starts turning into a darker greenish/blue color, it’s a good indicator that it’s time to stop exposure. 

Rinsing
Rinse off the chemicals with tap water. If there is no running water (the colder, the better), use a container with water, but make sure you change the water periodically. 

Drying
Let your creation air dry.

Made by the Champalimaud Foundation Community, brought to you by the Champalimaud Foundation's Communication, Events & Outreach team.