Re: Gum on Masa

[Keith Gerling <keith.gerling@gmail.com>]

Thanks for the nice comments!

Kerik, I started these in January, and printed whenever weather
allowed (it was COLD down in my basement studio!).  But as I was
saying, the quick-drying nature of the paper allows for a quick
turnaround.

Katherine, I tend to agree with you regarding the "photographic"
nature and I tended to relax or tighten the process based upon the
information contained in the original capture.  A photograph taken in
a bright studio setting allowed me to "show off" the photographic
capabilities of the process (perhaps to the detriment of the final
print), where a shot taken on a dark stage at 1/15 of a second at ISO
1200 is obviously more prone to be successful done in a more loose
fashion.

Thanks again

Keith



On Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 10:32 AM, Katharine Thayer <kthayer@pacifier.com> wrote:
> Outstanding! Keith, these are incredible.  I need to spend more time
>  looking at each one, and I wish I could spend an afternoon in a room
>  with all of them together, but I think this may be the best example
>  I've ever seen of marrying a subject to the gum medium.   This is
>  what gum is for.
>
>  The more photographic ones, like 17, 61, 64,  I don't find so
>  interesting, though the technique is superb.  I like the ones that
>  exploit the capabilities of gum to take it beyond the limits of
>  photography and express something that might not have been
>  communicated using a different process.  Like 55, 56, 43, 36c, for
>  starters.  Thanks so much for sharing these,
>  Katharine
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  On Mar 17, 2008, at 6:40 AM, kerik@kerik.com wrote:
>
>  > Keith,
>  >
>  > Wow!! What a beautiful body of work. The prints are beutiful as are
>  > the
>  > images. I'm am floored by your prolificacy. I am curious when you
>  > started
>  > this group of prints??
>  >
>  > Kerik
>  > www.kerik.com
>  >
>  >
>  > Original Message:
>  > -----------------
>  > From: Keith Gerling keith.gerling@gmail.com
>  > Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:30:02 -0600
>  > To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
>  > Subject: Gum on Masa
>  >
>  >
>  > I've been making gum photos on Masa paper..   Here is a link to some
>  > current work featuring dancers:
>  >
>  > http://www.gumphoto.com/masa/index.htm
>  >
>  > Yes, too many - I'm still editing.  As is usually the case with
>  > on-line gums, only a resemblance seems to exist between the displayed
>  > image and the actual print.  Here is a close-up to demonstrate
>  > detail::
>  >
>  > http://www.gumphoto.com/masa/detail2.jpg
>  >
>  > As I have only used alternative substrates for the last 5 years
>  > (mostly aluminum and gessoed tar paper) it took me awhile to get the
>  > hang of printing on paper, especially a paper as thin as Masa,  I had
>  > to re-learn the entire gumprinting process and to make the learning
>  > curve especially tricky I also am using inkjet negatives for the first
>  > time in nearly nine years.  The Masa I purchase comes in sheets of
>  > 21x31, large enough for a decent sized print and cut in half provides
>  > almost the same perspective, so there is little waste (which isn't an
>  > issue anyway because it is so cheap).  These are all gum over
>  > cyanotype and are 12x18 inches on half sheets.  They were printed with
>  > baby-oiled paper negatives.  Some observations:
>  >
>  > Masa is very thin, so on the positive side, it is 1) inexpensive, 2)
>  > very easy to register multiple layers, 3) very fast to dry.
>  >
>  > On the negative side, it is very flimsy and thus difficult to handle
>  > when wet.  Also, and this is the biggest disadvantage I can see when
>  > compared to other papers,  it gets very disagreeable when one attempts
>  > more than three layers of gum.  I can do it, but it is certainly a
>  > challenge   I'm not a huge fan of using cyanotype as my blue layer,
>  > but my usually practice of adding layer upon layer to build up density
>  > is not an option.  However, it takes a cyano layer very nicely, so
>  > rich blacks can be had fairly easily.
>  >
>  > I'm working now with full sized sheets and the results are very
>  > promising.  The biggest problem is keeping a larger oiled negative
>  > registered while trying to place it under a piece of glass with a
>  > sheet of mylar between the negative and the print.  Much easier with a
>  > smaller print where I can use a contact printing frame.
>  >
>  > Keith
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  >
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