SunPrint
Education Lab
Curriculum Framework
This is our Curriculum Framework, which outlines the core ideas and creative process that remain consistent across every cyanotype lesson. These elements stay the same because they support the values behind our teaching: observation, independent choice, experimentation, and reflection. The framework includes our basic teaching principles and a six-step creative process—Observe, Choose, Arrange, Expose, Reveal, and Reflect—which provides a shared foundation for every learning context.
Students gather and observe closely at pre-prepared materials like ordinary plants and natural materials, noticing overlooked details such as textures, shapes, torn edges, and insect holes.
Observe
Observation slows the creative process down before students begin making. By paying attention to familiar and overlooked materials, students learn that artistic ideas do not always need to come from something rare or impressive; creativity can begin with noticing what is already around them.
Choose
Students can select the plants or materials that catch their attention.
Choosing gives students ownership over the creative process. Instead of following one model or using materials selected for them, they begin making independent visual decisions and learn that different choices can lead to equally meaningful outcomes.
Arrange
Students use imagination to arrange their chosen materials on the paper, experimenting with placement, spacing and composition.
Arrangement turns observation and choice into visual expression. Without relying on advanced drawing skills, students can communicate ideas through shape and composition, while experimenting freely with different possibilities before deciding on a final design.
Students place their arranged paper under sunlight and watch as the exposed areas gradually change color over time.
Expose
Witnessing the exposure makes light an active part of the art-making process. Students see that the final image is shaped not only by their choices, but also by time, sunlight, and changes they cannot fully control.
The reveal makes the outcome immediate and visible. Watching the image emerge helps students connect their earlier choices with the final result while also experiencing the surprise and unpredictability that make cyanotype different from more controlled art processes.
Students rinse the exposed paper in water and watch as the final blue-and-white image gradually appears.
Reveal
Students place their finished prints together, observe one another’s work, and compare the different choices, compositions, and outcomes.
Reflection helps students see that the same process can produce many different results. By viewing the works together, they can notice new ideas, learn from each other, and value individual choices rather than searching for one “correct” outcome.
Reflect
