It's been a while since I last posted. With the new job as Visual Arts Technician, I barely have time to do anything but I've managed to continue my Printmaking Fellowship at the University of Northampton. Here's another addition to my collection of photo-etchings before I start moving onto more experimental printing techniques with the colour darkroom I've finally set up! More to follow soon.
While I have yet to successfully utilise the facilities at the University of Northampton as I am still learning its quirks, here are some experimental studies when layering photographs to explore indexical transparency and the photographic frame. Hopefully there will be more to follow soon!
Michael Schaaff led the workshop for wet plate collodion and clearly demonstrated his depth of skill and experience in the technique. It was great to see the level of dedication he gave to his practice from sourcing the materials to the occasional DIY large format camera or dark box; something I've considered myself. I found the whole process in perfect balance between science and art where the photographer really exhibits a labour of love to prepare these plates.
While I can understand that unpredictable results may yield a certain level of frustration, it is the element of surprise and happy accidents that I look forward to harnessing in my photographic practice. As a printmaker and photographer, I value the imperfection that has been lost in digital media and the idea of the craftsman perfecting their craft.
Overall, the process was complex and will probably require a couple of workshops before attempting myself but I look forward to when I do. It was a great way to network with other practicing artists and photographers in the local area and I look forward to similar opportunities in the future.
See Michael Schaaf's website on wet plate collodion HERE
Photographs courtesy of workshop attendees - Kate Genever and David Neve
I decided a couple of weeks ago to hedge my bets and apply for a printmaking fellowship at the University of Northampton. Unknowingly, my application failed to send so I'm glad I sent a following email. Luckily they were very understanding and offered me an informal interview even though the deadline had passed! Well interview day arrived. After a brief tour and a chat about my portfolio, the Lecturer in Printmaking was nice enough to offer me one of the five printmaking fellowships then and there. This one year opportunity involves a commitment of one day a week supporting students, while another day will be spent using the facilities to develop my art practice. After looking around the facilities and meeting staff members, I am definitely not regretting my application. Plus the fellows are able to exhibit at the Avenue Gallery, a space on campus. This will be a great chance to develop my portfolio for MA applications and to build on my experience in working in Higher Education.
After quite a turbulent year with a lot of change, this opportunity is certainly welcomed. I was apprehensive about visiting the degree show at Loughborough this weekend knowing that a whole year has already passed since my own degree show. Where has that time gone?! It's nice that I will be able to go there knowing that this year hasn't been a complete creative stalemate and that I have something to look forward too.
As it was sunny day, I decided to take advantage of the weather and produce some work. I had some fogged photographic paper and wanted to give Lumen prints a try. I found that using black and white paper produced stronger results compared to colour paper and was surprised by the bleaching from the fixer. In retrospect, these prints would have benefitted from a longer exposure as they can be left for hours, even days.
