[alt-photo] Kentucky show argyro and gum

[Christina Anderson]

Dear All,

Down here in Lexington Kentucky...gave two gum workshops back to back (gasp) and there was a show opening of alt process work at the Tuska Gallery at the University of Kentucky-- for those in the area you must come! (Show name is Transfixed) Very honored to have my work and Sam Wang's work hang in the same show (by my memory, a first)! Some wonderful palladium prints in there by two women, Lorie Nix and Regina deLouise. Some wonderful cyanotypes in book and quilt form. And some ambrotypes. Ruth Adams, professor at UK, is the curator and she did a great job.

Sam's gold-toned argyrotype was quite beautiful, the darkest, richest sortof reddish-chocolate color I have seen ever in an argyrotype. It was truly the color of 99% cocoa content bittersweet chocolate. Lovely print, Sam (although I want your Kudzu leaves one...the cyanoplati). Any chance you'd share how you did it?? What paper is it on?

I ordered both masa and coventry rag vellum as per list recommendations and can't wait to try it with argyrotype. I have a student testing Crane's Cover for me while I am here in KY both with argyrotype and palladium so will see if that paper works as well as Weston (it is a bit sturdier). Will also try the citric acid or oxalic acid soak to papers and see if I can get Rives BFK and Artistico to perform. 

At the workshop we worked on Rives BFK and gum in both workshops and I am reminded of how wonderful Artistico is. BFK is a very soft, velvety paper for sure, but it is prone to speckle-staining and where Fabriano shrinks with successive gum layers, Rives will stretch at times and shrink at times, a worse problem than shrinkage.

We used 1:1 PVA sizing which seemed to be a good dilution for Rives, whereas I use 1:2 for Fabriano.

Rene McKellar did a beautiful print in graphite gray pigment during the workshop. Loved the look, shiny subtle gray.

Heading out to Louisville to do a day of archive research and then home. Hope I can pronounce the name correctly and not embarrass myself (LOO-ah-vul not Loo-EEE-ville) but I think I'm truly hopeless with that one so may not even try....
Chris
 
Christina Z. Anderson
christinaZanderson.com