Cyanotype experiments part II

Cyanotyping on Cuttlefish bones

So I can't find any references to anyone previously using cuttlefish bones for cyanotypes so will have to do some trial and error experiments to see if this works!  EEK

Firstly I've checked that the two chemicals used in the cyanotyping process would not be dangerous when added to the bones.  The bones are made of aragonite - a crystal form of calcium carbonate - with a PH of 9.91.  There's nothing on the internet to suggest there's any issue combining Ferric ammonium citrate or Pottassium ferricyanide with this so assuming its okay!  Will take precacautions (ventilation/gloves etc)

The first issue I had was how to mix the chemicals that I would

apply to the cuttlefish bones.  I don;t have a tungsten bulb or dimmer switch in my room, so have used my iphone (with filter turned to red).  This wasn't ideal as too dark to see very well and tricky to mix the chemicals and apply correctly to the bones.

I put them in a sealed black bag to use the next day, but should probably have left them to dry first as when I took them out they all had started developing the blue/grey sheen already.  Im not sure if this is because the red light from my iphone had UV light, because I didn;t dry them in a dark room before sealin in a bag or because of the nature of the material...  Anyway I decided to try and use them anyway and see what happned.  Top image is how they looked when I got them out of the bag.  I put them outside with the acetate drawings on top  (middle is a control)  The eye image on the left I exposed for 10 mins outside in full sun.  The other two I exposed outside for 25 mins.  I then rinsed them in the sink with constant running water for 5 mins each.