Anna Pocaro Photography

An Embodiment of Great Salt Lake

The blue and white waves, flags, and banners are embodiments of Great Salt Lake and the three rivers, Jordan, Weber, and Bear that feed into the lake. These waves, flags, and banners are ambassadors traveling across our watershed, bringing the lake and her living waters to the people.

These fabric pieces were created by many hands in collaboration with water, oolitic sand, plants, feathers, bones, and all the elements. All elements for these pieces were gathered in ritual by artist and Making Waves Co-founder Sarah May, who originated the waves, flags, and banners from her own artistic practices. We gather materials with the intention of creating in community; asking the lake and rivers for consent, never taking more than was needed, and returning everything back to the earth afterward.

This photographic process, called Cyanotype, is an alternative photographic process where light-sensitive chemicals are applied to cotton fabric, and an image becomes exposed through UV light such as the sun.

The cyanotype process was historically used in the mid 1800’s as a way to make blueprints and English botanist and photographer Anna Atkins was one of the first artists to make “photograms” by placing plant specimens directly onto the surface to create an image. Making Waves Artist Collaborative uses water and natural elements to create these large-scale photograms, a visual representation of how we as a community are connected to the water and ecosystem of Great Salt Lake. 

Learn about this photographic process and how to make your own waves, flags, and banners at home!

Cyanotype guidelines are free and available for public use. Please credit Sarah May and Making Waves Artist Collaborative. 

Anna Pocaro Photography

Anna Pocaro Photography

Making Waves Cyanotype Guidelines

B&H Photo

  • This process uses two chemicals: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide creating light sensitivity and the brilliant cyan color. You can buy these in a cyanotype kit with these listed as "A" and "B" chemicals where you mix equal parts 1:1 of each chemical to coat your desired surface. Chemicals can be bought online at photographic stores like b&h photo, and are sometimes available at art stores like Blick Arts.

    To create your own cyanotype waves, flags, and banners, you will need a natural fiber fabric such as cotton, silk, or linen. The natural fibers will absorb the chemicals much better than fabrics with polyesters in them. You will also need disposable gloves to apply the chemicals to fabric, access to water, trays/waterproof bins and or buckets for developing and rinsing, and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to darken the blues faster. You will also need a place to dry your fabric that is out of direct light. 

    You can use plants and objects from your yard and objects from home to create your own photogram cyanotypes, where the image/shape of the plant or object will be transferred like a stencil to the light-sensitive surface. Be mindful and respectful of where and how you take plants and items from nature for your artistic process. This art form is meant to be in collaboration and a relationship of consent and reciprocity with the natural world. 

Anna Pocaro Photography

  • When you have mixed your chemicals together, you are ready to coat your fabric. We recommend soaking the fabric in the chemicals and wringing out the excess to ensure the fabric is saturated and has the best exposure. Wash your fabric before coating, making sure not to use fabric softener. When your fabric is damp from the washer, the chemicals will saturate faster into the fibers. Depending on the thickness and amount of fabric you are coating, you will need a range of around 1 tablespoon for coating a few small Muslim cotton squares, to around 1-2 cups or more for a 12 or 15-foot wave. 

    If you are unsure of how much chemicals you think you will need, add a little bit at a time and knead the chemical into the fabric with your hands using your gloves. You can also save chemicals you have squeezed or wrung out in a dark bottle to coat more fabric or watercolor paper. 

    Be sure to do this indoors with bright lights turned off and using subdued lighting such as indirect window light or dim lights in your garage This prevents the chemical from exposing prematurely. Hang your fabric to dry in a dark area. We use thrifted laundry hanging racks with a tarp underneath as excess chemicals may drip off the fabric and stain surfaces like wood, tile, and concrete. Use a fan to speed up the drying process. 

Anna Pocaro Photography

  • Once the chemical is dry, you are ready to print on your fabric. If you are printing smaller pieces of fabric, you can create your own contact printer by using a piece of glass from a thrifted picture frame (plexiglass is a little safer and less accident-prone), a piece of cardboard, and binder clips to hold everything down. This is especially helpful on a windy day or to create a firm contact with plant items between the glass and cardboard, creating sharper details. Objects that are sticking up or do not have a firm contact will have a softer focus.

    Place your objects in your desired pattern on top, place a piece of glass/plexiglass to keep everything in place for smaller prints, and take it outside to be exposed in the sun. If you are printing a larger piece of fabric or a wave, have a friend help you lay it down and place your objects on the surface quickly, or splash water in spirals and patterns as it is exposed in the sun. 

    The best time to print is when the sun is directly overhead around the late morning or early afternoon on a sunny day. This will make the exposure time strong and consistent. Exposure times can vary based on the time of year and weather. On a bright summer day, expose your fabric for 5-6 minutes. You know your image has been exposed just enough when the surface turns from greenish-yellow to a silvery forest green. Each fabric will react to the exposure process differently and the colors at this stage may vary but it is working if you see a shifting in color and value.

    Since your piece of fabric will be a 3D art piece, after your exposure time flip the fabric to the other side and create a new pattern with plants and objects, or simply expose the other side on its own for 3-4 minutes. The first side you expose will be your “main” side with the longer exposure time. 

Anna Pocaro Photography


  • Now you have exposed your print in the sun, you are ready to develop and rinse your fabric. Developing your cyanotype requires only rinsing with water and a little hydrogen peroxide to develop, making this one of the easiest alternative photo processes to create with. 

    Fabric absorbs more chemicals than paper so you will need access to a hose or a kitchen sink for a steady supply of water. Filling buckets with water or large restaurant bussing bins are the best option if you have access to them. This developing process requires 3 main water baths or rinses. After each rinse, dispose of the water either down the drain or in a place in your yard absent of plants.

    The first bath is the initial rinse to get the majority of the chemicals out of the fabric. The water will turn blue and or yellow-green as the chemicals rinse out. Agitate or swish around the fabric with your hands and once the water is pretty saturated with the chemicals, take the fabric out and wring it out really good and get as much liquid as you can out. It is helpful to have a friend to help you in this process. This part is key in getting all of the chemicals out of the fabric. This rinse will take between 1-3 minutes depending on how much fabric you are rinsing. 

    The second bath is your second water rinse with a small amount of hydrogen peroxide added to darken the blues. This is a ratio of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 30 parts water; meaning you add a very small amount of hydrogen peroxide with a significantly larger amount of water. This can look like 1 tablespoon or so for a bucket of water. Once you put your fabric in this rinse, the fabric will immediately darken to a deep shade of blue with all the details from the exposure appearing. It is truly magical. Rinse for 1-3 minutes to rinse out as much of the chemicals as possible, swish and move the fabric in the water, and wring out really well.

    The third bath is the final rinse, with the goal of having the water clear of all the chemicals. You can let your fabric soak in this bath and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. It is important to rinse out all the chemicals or the cyanotype will yellow over time. You can also rinse the cyanotypes in a rinse cycle in your washer, making sure not to add any detergent or fabric softener as this will bleach and distort the colors and images of your cyanotype.

    Hang your fabric to dry out of direct sunlight in a shaded area or inside your home, or tumble dry in your dryer on low heat. Once your fabric is dry, you will be able to have it in the sun without the image being bleached away.

Anna Pocaro Photography


  • Now you have your printed cyanotype fabric, the sky is the limit for what you can create. Look for examples of flags and banners you like and experiment with cutting out shapes, sewing, and gluing them together onto poles. We recommend using bamboo stakes for their durability and smooth surface less prone to splinters. A technique we use in creating the Making Waves flags and banners is sewing together multiple cyanotypes of varying textures and shades of blue, then cutting new shapes out of the pieces sewn together. It is helpful to iron the fabric before any construction and sewing on a low cotton setting. 

    If you are making cyanotype waves, you can sew loops on to enable them to be carried easily by multiple people. Our waves have loops sewn about every 4 feet. 

    These are imperfect offerings and every person of every skill level and experience is able to create waves, flags, or banners that are beautiful and show love and devotion to our sacred lake and watershed. If you make your own Making Waves Cyanotype, send us pictures or come vigil with us!

Anna Pocaro Photography


  • Now you have your completed Making Waves Cyanotypes, here are some tips to ensure you have your art piece for many years to come.

    Cyanotypes are good to be outside for short periods of time. Cyanotypes will bleach in the sun if left out for weeks and months. The intensity of sunlight will also affect any bleaching or fading if kept outside. If your cyanotype is looking a little dull or faded after being outside for a long period of time, keep it in a dark place for several days. If the bleaching is not too severe, some of the color may restore itself. 

    If your cyanotype gets wet, you can line dry or tumble dry on low. Cyanotypes are made from and in collaboration with water and your print is in very little danger from getting wet. 

    If you need to wash your cyanotype, wash with a mild/gentle soap. Harsh detergents can bleach your cyanotype. Do a test if you can to see how mild soaps or gentle detergents affect the cyanotype. Acids and tannins in coffee, tea, and other foods and substances will change the color and or bleach your cyanotypes. Keep this in mind if your cyanotype is in an area where food and spills can happen. 

    Like all art, cyanotypes will naturally fade and change slightly over time based on light exposure, fabric, and environmental conditions. Making Waves Cyanotypes are made in collaboration and reciprocity with the natural world. We embrace and allow the art we create to shift, change, and transform as a part of the cycles of time and nature from where they came.