Taipei City Bihu Elementary School - Campus Jigsaw Puzzle: Exploring the Infinite Possibilities of Beauty

Cyanotype is an ancient process invented by British Sir John Herschel in 1842. This technology has profoundly influenced modern photography. It uses a mixture of ammonium ferric citrate and potassium ferrocyanide (red blood salt) as a developing agent. The process requires exposure to sunlight, and the final image appears dark blue (Prussian blue), hence the name cyanotype.

This technique is also used in the reproduction of architectural construction drawings, also known as cyanotype printing, or "blueprint." In modern times, the term "blueprint" has also been extended to mean planning and plotting, such as "a blueprint for life." Cyanotype drawings, due to factors such as ultraviolet radiation, can cause unclear lines or uneven color development, impacting practical functionality and are therefore considered failures and prohibited from use. However, in visual art, the variations and unpredictable effects of blue can actually be expressions of creative energy and beauty.

Our sixth graders had prior experience in photography using a flatbed in fifth grade (different light and shadows create different experiences). Cyanotype, an ancient development technique that uses sunlight to create shadows, was a great extension of the curriculum, according to the teachers. The theme was to practice writing ancient Chinese poems in Mandarin and calligraphy, using the cyanotype technique in the natural world as the creative medium. The work was a whole-class collaborative project, incorporating Zentangle techniques from the Visual Arts curriculum.

These course experiences will enable children to have more diverse perspectives to appreciate and share what they see, hear, listen and think when they produce campus introduction works in the next semester. We hope that the cultivation of these aesthetic senses will produce more diverse fragrances in children.