Hahahahahahaha thanks for asking. I am still busy at solarplate but first a
segue.
I arrived home (begrudgingly) Sunday night in time to teach all day Monday.
I am exhausted, as my list of things to do grows by the hour (one of them
being to finish a PowerPoint on Judy Seigel's Read My T-Shirt book to
present to my non-fiction class).
While at SPE we had the most amazing opportunity to view the Margulies
collection. Scott Weber is responsible in part for this, and I thank you,
Scott. We were fed an incredible buffet and open bar. The collection is in
a HUGE white warehouse and contains 1100 pieces of artwork with most of it
photography. Where else can you browse around with a full tummy and drink
and have your nose up to a grouping of Cindy Shermans from grad school that
you have never seen, Winogrand, Gursky, Ruff, Becher, Crewdson, New
Topographic photographers, video installations, photographers too numerous
to mention. It blew me away. I have to say my hubby was not as impressed
with the work as I was as he isn't into contemporary photography but oh
well--probably how I felt in some of the SPE panels that talked so much
about trope and slippage and conflation and eliding that I wanted to just
say, could you PLEASE show me your effin' work???
Interestingly, I don't remember any alt process there but I was way too busy
blabbing with people, too. One last thing, the most entrancing piece of
artwork was an ENTIRE bathroom sewn in seethru lavender polyester/nylon,
down to even the SCREWS and switchplates!! It was a tour de force as well as
being fun, light, funny, and an incredible space to exist in.
But anyway, back to solarplate--last night I printed out some step tablets
(6) and am going to expose them to different ratios of screen and positive
to see how the scale changes up and down the tonal range. I have been using
2mn/45sec ratio on KM73 that works well for me with UVBL--rich darks and
detail in highlights, so I may end up sticking with that after all and
making a curve based on that, but I did want to continue to understand the
dynamics of the ratio.
I also am going to do some outside sun exposures to see if there is a
difference in that vs. UVBL with both mottling and sharpness. I am really
excited about that, now that spring and bright sun are here.
I have read all your posts on this and it seems that powdering the positive,
the screen, letting the Pictorico dry for a while and even with a heat dry,
heat drying the plate post development and then doing the post exposure is
all in order.
No one has mentioned using something in between the Pictorico and the glass
to prevent that kind of Newtony possible contact, correct? Therefore heck,
I might even powder the top of the Pictorico, too. Until I get a tax refund
(maybe not) the Amergraph is a pipe dream and I remain with UVBL.
I have both KM73s and solarplates here to work with, and await my chine
colle supplies and my Somerset Satin paper so thanks for the tips on paper
you all. I also ordered the Hahnemuhle Copperplate. I will be printing my
image on top of a pale peach chine colle paper in parts so am really excited
to finish this particular image to see it all pan out.
I did include a quickie solarplate chapter just in time for the second
edition of my Alternative Processes Condensed book to be printed. I also
included both Jon and Susan's images as well as my own...Keith's is sorely
missing, tho :( I also pay homage to Jon, Keith, and Susan for help as
WELL as Mark Nelson who, behind the scenes, has been laboring with me over
this solarplate stuff to come up with a methodical way to calibrate the
curve. Not only is it positive but with two separate exposures and the
ratio between the two coming into play, it is much more complex than
calibrating, say, gum or platinum. He has listened to me whine and almost
throw in the towel numerous times, and in his quiet way has said, "Hmmm, I
think you might want to do this...." to spur me back to the drawing board.
It's weird, Mark doesn't even DO solarplate and he understands it better
than I do, that scumbag!
Chris
PS DRINKS??!!! Do you know how much I paid for a martini in Miami!!!!
$16!!!!! I had to settle for Bud Lite ($7)!
----- Original Message -----
From: "SusanV" <susanvoss3@gmail.com>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 6:25 AM
Subject: Where's Waldo... errrr I mean Christina?
> Have we lost Christina to the Florida Keys? Is she down in Key West
> now, sipping one of those multicolored drinks with the little paper
> umbrella in it? Is she swimming with dolphins? Taking polaroids of
> tourists for $20 a pop?
>
> hmmm.....
>
> Susan
>
> --
> susan
> gravure blog at www.susanvossgravures.blogspot.com
> website www.dalyvoss.com
>