Reduction prints inspired by Snowflake Bentley

Snowflake Bentley was a photographer who published the first photos of an individual snowflake, proving that each was unique and six-sided. He spent his entire life studying snow. We admired his photographs and read about his life from the beautifully illustrated book that bears his name.

We sketched some designs using radial symmetry, and selected our best one to transfer to printing foam. We printed the first layer with white ink on colored paper.

We rinsed our foam after printing a set of three papers, drew some small background flakes into the foam around the center flake, and finally, very carefully cut the large flake from the center, so that all that was left of our printing plate was the background. The following week, we printed a second layer over the first using black ink this time, trying to create the look of Snowflake Bentley's antique photographs that focus on a single flake.