>I hope to get better gum pictures with practice but if the clay surface is
>given a 'primer' coat of fixed gum before the image-forming coat is
>applied (as recommended to reduce background staining) the image is
>separated from the surface to which it will eventually adhere by the
>thickness of the primer coat. As the latter burns off, the image settles
>onto the surface but some blurring occurs in the process.
How about collodion instead of gum. It is virtually ashless. It is soluble
in ether but you may be able to make it tacky with other solvents that
wouldn't dry so quickly.
Dick Sullivan
Bostick & Sullivan
PO Box 16639, Santa Fe
NM 87506
505-474-0890 FAX 505-474-2857
http://www.bostick-sullivan.com