studio marathon

Lordy! Who's had time for cocktails & sunset, beach walks, blogging, cooking mad pots of soup or just chilling with my crabby old broad of a cat? Not me. It's been quite an exhilirating run of studio, studio, studio. I've forgotten what a time sink intaglio printing is-- when I know what I'm doing. This class I'm auditing, up at the university, in photographic etching? It's like playing that operation game, where you are loudly buzzed for the slightest gaffe with the tools. There are a bajillion wax-on, wax-off steps that go into making a workable print, and I've come home from the print shop in the wee hours several times the past couple weeks with a mere baby step's progress. Good ideas are coming out of the process, though, and my first critique went well. I'll see if I can get some prints scanned for you to see.

It's interesting how photography has popped up recently. It all started when my friend 4ank was visiting, and I mentioned polaroid tranfer prints to him. That's a process in which you get the image from a polaroid onto paper. It tends to soften the image and evoke a sense of memory. Purdy. He went home and researched it all up, and has sent me a wad of the good info, links & suggestions from practitioners. I'll compile it here for our mutual benefit.

Then there's this photo-etching class I'm eavesdropping on.

So I figure it's time I get a digital camera. For my birthday, Mom got me research & a kick-start check towards one. Thanks, Ma! And my brother suggested I honor my good eye for imagery by treating myself to a real good one. Any leads out there?

Then I meet this guy who, it turns out, is big big into photography, and has done the whole Open Studios & art fair thing with his work. He has view cameras, 120 & 220 film cameras, fancy-pants digital cameras, the works. We're trying out photoshooting together as part of a whole Artist's Way/creativity push thing. We'll see if that becomes a rewarding steady gig full of sparky collaboration, or another Santa Cruzish good intentions trail-off.

A couple months ago I thought I'd be spending the next months on wooodcut printing, but the Universe has spoken up. Good things come from listening, I hear.

Pip