Re: doorskin etc.

Patrick & Lynn Hilferty ( philferty@earthlink.net)
Tue, 07 January 1997 10:16 PM

Judy Siegal wrote:

>Please, what is "doorskin"?

It's a really thin plywood (cheap, too) that I get at Home Depot. I like it
because I can cut it with a mat knife, and stiff enough to hang 3D clay
objects off the front of the piece.

>Also, why do you use gloss medium and ash rather than matt medium and ash,
>or doesn't it really matter?

It's what I got in the garage. My wife says that the adhesive qualities are
superior with gloss medium, but I also use it in a potentially vain attempt
to improve the darks (blues?).

>Also, what do you use for 36" by 40" (or is that really 40 feet?)
>negatives?

Uh, would you believe drafting vellums that I put through an oversized
Xerox machine?
It's true.

>What are exposure times like?

Really long. 4-6 hours. I think that's excessive and am trying to figure
out what to do next. I'm thinking about making mylars and doubling them up
to get a better density range.

>Does the space heater have to be broken?

I was a grad student 'til recently and cost was an obstacle: yes.

>Why do you heat dry it rather than letting it air dry?

I've been reading the posts about this subject and I have to say I'm not
sure any more. I used to misapply the emulsion and put it on too thick, so
I suppose it was to make sure everything was dry.

>What's alginate? Does she dry by heat so the product can be stacked? Do
>you know of any other reason?

Sodium Alginate. She would use it to keep the silk screened cyanotype
designs from creeping on the T-shirts. I think she heat-dryed the product
so that she could make sure the design wouldn't smear.

>I apologize for so many questions, but couldn't help myself. TIA.
>
>Judy

I'm just happy to contribute something to this discussion.

Patrick Hilferty

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Patrick Hilferty
Belmont, CA 94002
E-Mail: philferty@earthlink.net
Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~philferty/
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