Harrison Art Students Create Sunprints for Big Art Day

Sixth-grade art students stepped back in time and traded paintbrushes for sunlight in celebration of Harrison Intermediate’s Big Art Day.

In a process spanning over several days, art students designed and developed their very own sunprints. Experiencing the full process, from digital design to development, the sunprint art project mirrored early photographic techniques.

Students began by designing an online page in Canva filled with their names, symbols, and other words that reflected their personalities. Those designs were printed onto transparent sheets, setting the stage for a process that blends modern technology with a photographic technique dating back nearly two centuries.

“I wanted a project where we could be outside and a project that was cross-curricular,” Harrison Art teacher Michelle Beck said. “The cyanotype prints combine both science and art.”

Similar to processing film, students started a chemical reaction by placing their transparencies in the sun on light-sensitive cyanotype paper. As ultraviolet rays hit the paper, the exposed areas turned blue, creating a sunprint.

“This is not a digital camera moment where you can reshoot,” Beck said.

In the final step, students rinsed their prints in water to stop the chemical reaction.

“This feels so wrong putting paper in water,” sixth-grader Peyton Jackson said.

Because of her love of nature, she designed her sunprint with plants and natural items

“It’s really cool that we’re using science in art class,” Jackson said. “Science is one of my passions.”

Other art students used humor when creating their sunprint designs.

“I put socks on my design because I like them and I hate them,” said Melanie Nguyen, a sixth-grade art student. “Socks make me sweaty, but they keep my feet warm.”

About 120 art students made sunprints, each producing a one-of-a-kind piece that took up to 12 hours to fully process.

The finished sunprints will serve as a base for painting, adding yet another layer of creativity to a project that bridges past and present.