Two images made within the last 48 hours at the Manhattan Graphics Center in New York...the top image was made on Adorama fiber paper with the edges hand-torn (like there is any other kind of tear?) because I figured the chemigram process would stop at the edge of the emulsion (and sure enough it did). The bottom image was made on Adorama RC paper (a full sheet of 8x10) after coating with Soluvar varnish diluted 1:1 with mineral spirits and dipping the uncoated area of the paper into fixer first, then immersing in developer for the usual developer/fixer/water cycle. I have full notes on the technical procedures, which after three weeks of practice are starting to seem at least partially consistent, but these images are notable for being the first ones I've tried without coating the entire sheet of paper, i.e. selectively painting the exposed surface with diluted varnish before going on to further mark-making.
So far I just use numerical codes for images corresponding to the date and order in which they were made, but the tentative title for the bottom image is "Galactic Event." (A half-hour ago it was still "Galactic Apocalypse" but that sounds like a Justice League graphic novel so I modified it.)
The chemigram process still seems magical and infinite tonight, but it makes more sense by the day.
I'd like to know how you get those large areas of white on the upper chemigram - maybe I'm not I understanding how they're made. Is there a class anywhere, for an old painter like me?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I understand all the technical aspects of the process either, but I think the white areas were achieved by subjecting the varnish-covered areas of the exposed paper to fixer first and then immersing it in developer. The white areas outside the torn edge of the paper are of course not part of the image and were added when I scanned the photo.
ReplyDeleteAs for classes, I know that Manhattan Graphics Center in New York has a class in glassprints and chemigrams scheduled for spring 2011, but I think they won't post the details until some time this fall...