Galina Manikova (galina@online.no)
Thu, 15 Apr 1999 01:17:30 +0200
Jack,
there would be several solutions to that, depending on what kind of quality
is wanted and what type of facilities is available. It is pretty tiresome to
try to make ceramic decals without all the equipment, that would be needed.
If your student wants just one of a kind image, it is absurd to go for
decals.
Why not try multiple gum or temperaprint ? Just proceed in the usual way,
only use ceramic pigments or salts. Pigments are kind of difficult just as
it is difficult to use dry pigments for gum in general. We tried
Phototempera a la Peter Charles Fredrick at Can Serrat last year and I just
continued with it further, when I came home. It works just fine with both
pigments and stains. I would recommend that to a newby, as one needs to know
a bit more about chemistry in order to use salts in combination with the
dichromates.
Another way to go is cyanotype. Use twice as much ferric am. citrate and
only half the water from the standard receipt:
Sol. A:
Potassium Ferricyanide 40 gr.
Water 125 ml.
Sol. B:
Ferric Ammonium Citrate (green) 95 gr.
Water 125 ml.
Sol. C:
175 Bloom gelatin 4 gr.
Water 125 ml.
Emulsion: part 1 A + part 1 B + part 1 C
One has to give a layer of size and harden the gelatin before applying the
emulsions.
The reason for concentrating the emulsion is the fact that one needs a
thicker layer in order to get a stronger image after the firing. One can
use other salts both over and under the emulsion, which would give color and
contour effects. Should not be fired over 1000 C. Gives a range of orange
/brown at oxidising atmosphere and black/browns at reduction. Can be
handcolored with stains.
All this demands some experimenting.
The same goes for kalitype/van dyke/argyrotype. Just add a little bit of
gelatin into the emulsion and prewarm the tiles before applying the
emulsion. One might need to cover twice in order to get some thickness. I
just fix it without firing. Both silvergelatin and other silver emulsions
can be fired though. The image is kind of yellowish after the firing and
delicate, not too much contrast.
The best is to use something based on silver chloride. Gives lustered
colours from pink to gold, very nice looking. One can also just put a thin
layer of silver chloride over the emulsion before the firing - on anything
from cyanotype to gum.
There would be a big difference between glazed and unglazed tiles.
There are a lot of other possibilities too: dusting on , carbon , silkscreen
emulsions , photoresist., for just to mention some of it.
Photoceramics is a field for itself and I have just started to explore it.
I am planning to come to Santa Fe and talk a little more about it.
It could be fun to visit SF on the way back, perhaps ? Is the school open
then ?
Contact me of list, Jack.
Regards,
Galina.
>Friends (and Galina)
>A student came to me and wishes to make a photographically correct … I mean
>here an image w/normal contrast … life-size self portrait on ceramic tile.
>I thought the bast way was to use decals.
>Do any of you have any thoughts on how to approach this?
>
>I think he wishes to use normal square bathroom tiles (5 inches square) and
>mount them on a sheet of plywood. There is possibility to use larger tiles
>which I think would work better.
>
>I'd mentioned a simpler approach by using Photoshop & a program called Terrazzo
>to create an image out of multiple small tiles in 10 shades of gray. He felt
>this to not be accurate enough and, I think, too painstaking.
>
>thanks in advance for your advice
>Jack Fulton
>SF Art Institute
>
>
Galina Manikova,
"The alternative alternative", Oslo.
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