RE: Traveling Portfolio Comments

[liz tuttie <ituttie@earthlink.net>]

>
> Traveling Portfolio..
>
> I guess I got busy and forgot to send my comments.  Here goes..
>
> Don Bryant:
> 3 palladium prints. Loved the Cotton Gin image print. The others were
very nice but that was the outstanding image to me in the group.
>
> Robert Cockrell: 2 Orotone plates, 12 tintypes.
>  The orotone plates were exciting. I would like to understand more about
how they were done. They are both spectacular.  The tintypes set back the
time clock and worked well. 
>
> George Smyth: 3 bromoil prints.
> I really liked all three of these prints, image and printing. Obviously
the one of his daughter had a very special mood which comes across
perfectly. 
>
> Marek Matusz: 
>
> The two monochrome gum prints  were interesting but I thought a bit flat.
I understand the desire for the smooth tonal gradations I guess gum in
color grabs me more. The upside down car was great. Beautiful printing and
charming subject matter. 
>
> Beth Graves:
>
> I truly enjoyed the cyanotypes " Signs of China Town" The prints were
well done and the images were wonderful. The ferrotypes were beautiful as
well as fun imagery.
>
> Christina Anderson: 
>
> Her gum work was very well done and I understood the enormity of work
getting the negatives right. Wow, the images and prints were great. A lot
of work went into those and they well done.. I could see bigger would be
more powerful but for the  traveling portfolio it was fine.
>
> Suzanne Izzo:
>
> I found the 7 & 70 prints to be charming. Thank you for sharing the two,
I really liked them. The cyanotypes on different paper was an interesting
experiment to share. I personally liked two prints, one being on an off
white paper and the other a light grey. The contrast and brilliance were
more pleasing to my eye.
>
>  Elizabeth Tuttie;
> Thank you for your comment on my work Suzanne. I like to shoot with an 11
x 14 much of the time. I had a PAPER problem on this print and several
others . It is on Weston Diploma Parchment. If you look at the arm of the
chair you will see a dreaded BLACK SPOT. Yes it is in the diploma Parchment
as well. I found it to be in the same spot on MANY sheets. John Zokowski
from Butler Drearden stopped in my gallery last summer and described
problems with making paper. One being old machinery and small particals of
metal that comes off the machines and becomes part of the paper. We then
find it when we print on it.  So others may find that problem in that paper
as well. 
>
> Suzanne, Thank you for being confused concerning the subject matter of my
print and asking why she had her top open. The concept of making people
think and wonder is always a important to me. But in this case I could not
title it as there was so much serious confusion going on in this person at
that moment. The subject matter here is not a pleasant one and is  facing
many women today. I did not think it appropriate to mention but  to let the
viewer wonder. It could be many things and I will leave it at that. 
>
> All in all the portfolio was a wonderful thing to share and I hope more
poeople add to it each year.
>
> Thank you for sharing.
>
> Liz Tuttie
>
>  
>
>
>
> > [Original Message]
> > From: Barbara Izzo <bi3@georgetown.edu>
> > To: George L Smyth <george.smyth@gmail.com>
> > Cc: <jeffrey.d.mathias@att.net>; Robert <rc3@flash.net>; Diana
Bloomfield <dhbloomfield@bellsouth.net>; Don Bryant
<dsbryant@bellsouth.net>; Beth Graves <beth@aegraves.com>; MarekMatusz
<marekmatusz@hotmail.com>; <zphoto@montana.net>; Liz Tuttie
<photosplatinum@earthlink.com>
> > Date: 4/22/2008 2:46:28 PM
> > Subject: Traveling Portfolio Comments
> >
> > Here are my comments on the prints in the 2008 Traveling Portfolio. 
There is lots of interesting work, but where are all the self-portraits? 
Besides me, only Robert included one.  Now that you know what we look like,
I want to see the rest of you.
> >
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------
> >
> > Don Bryant:  3 palladium prints
> > I've always liked Don's building images, and the cotton gin series
sounds like a great project.  The print from that series was my favorite.  
> > I understand your comment about finding the driftwood more intriguing
at the exposure than after the printing.  I'm always attracted to this type
of scene and it doesn't always translate to an interesting picture.  My
first thought was that I would have gone in closer, but any cropping I
tried really killed the image; I think you need all of what you have.  I
actually rather like the image and think the 
> > tonalities are very nice.
> > I looked at Barr's blog but couldn't find the image to compare.  Again,
I like your printing, but I think most of your images are more interesting.
> >
> > Robert Cockrell: 2 orotone plates, 12 tintypes
> > Robert's orotone plates were a special treat.  Both were wonderful.  I
especially liked the gold highlights in the windshield and headlights of
the car.  Although you gave a detailed list of materials and some
directions, I didn't understand how it all went together.  Perhaps you
could write an outline of the steps required to produce these beautiful
plates.
> > I also liked seeing the tintypes.  Some images seemed better suited to
the process than others.  I especially liked your self portrait (the
typical tintype subject) and the still life with candlesticks.  
> > Beth has "ferrotypes" on aluminum.  What metal are your plates made of?
> >
> > George Smyth: 3 bromoil prints
> > I was glad you sent the picture of your daughter which is lovely.  (I
had seen it before in our critique group, but was happy to see it again.) 
I liked the other two also, and was glad to be able to compare the inking
styles.  The subjects are interesting; obviously modern but with an old
bromoil feel.  You have certainly been able to achieve very good results in
a short time.
> >
> > Marek Matusz: 2 gum "bleach development" process, 2 3-color gum
> > I would have liked an overview sheet with these prints to clarify the
processes used.
> > I think both the window and the agave are bleached developed gum
(although the agave also says on the back "Direct Carbon cleared").  The
agave expecially has wonderful smooth tones.  I was glad to see an actual
print of this image after seeing it on line.
> > The car and the museum I think are 3-color gum.  While I don't really
care much for the car image it leads me to wonder how you achieved it.  I
see on the back the colors you used, but how many negatives did you use? 
Did you do a lot of brushing?
> > The museum image was my favorite.  While I really like the image and it
stands on its own without explanation, I would be interested in hearing
about the techniques you used.
> >
> > Beth Graves: 4 cyanotypes, 4 ferrotypes, 3 centennial pop prints
> > I'm always interested in seeing the different subjects people print in
cyanotype.  I would not have thought of cyanotype for your series "Signs of
Chinatown", but I think it works very well.  I especially like the images
that include some sky.  What do you mean by "vinegar-developed cyanotype"? 
I was glad to see the Weston Diploma Parchment which seems to be a good
paper for cyanotype.  It is not what I think of as parchment, however.
> > I didn't know we had another person printing on metal.  What is
"trophy" aluminum?  I like this series a lot; the metal keys being printed
on a metal plate is perfect.
> > With the Centennial Pop prints, I didn't know which print went with
which toner.  Which one did you decide to use?
> >
> > Elizabeth Tuttie: platinum/palladium print
> > I think the printing here is beautiful, especially the lights tones as
in the curtains.  I usually prefer smaller prints, but the large size seems
appropriate here.  However, I find the subject confusing--I keep wondering
why she has her top open.
> >
> > Christina Anderson: 7 gum prints
> > It was interesting to read about your experiments with different
negative techniques although I am one of the "older" people and didn't
understand much.  The technique used in "For Sale", however, is one I have
been thinking of using (painting different colors on different areas).  I'm
amazed at the precision you achieved.  Do you use a thicker gum mix so
there is no running or bleeding?  I liked "Merry Christmas" especially
because of its small size.  It seems so intimate.  You wrote that you like
it better at 13x19, and I know that you usually print large.  It would
certainly be a completely different image, at that size.
> > My favorite was "After Monet".  I can't appreciate the problems you had
with CMYK, but the result isn't "dull".  In addition to Monet, it reminds
me of Japanese woodcut prints.
> >
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------
> >
> > Since we had so many unused pockets, I moved Christina's prints to the
back of the portfolio and separated them so they are no longer stacked as
she writes in her introduction.
> >
> > I know each of you will enjoy the prints as you receive them.  Thanks
to all for sharing your work.
> > Suzanne