From: Katharine Thayer (kthayer@pacifier.com)
Date: 10/07/03-07:58:04 AM Z
Given some of the comments that I've received privately, it seems clear
that not everyone "got" the point of this website. Whether this is due
to a failure to communicate on my part; or whether it's due to the fact
that because we all speak different languages and have different levels
and types of experience and expertise with alternative processes, some
of just never will understand others of us; or whether it's due to the
inherent limitations of electronic reproduction, I can't say. But rather
than continuing to try to explain this to individual correspondents,
I'll just say it to everyone:
The site was intended as an answer to those who mistakenly believe that
there is only one way for gum to look (opaque and coarse, lacking in
tonal gradation and color clarity, etc). The prints shown on the site
were chosen to demonstrate some other ways that gum can look, besides
the stereotypical "gum" look. It was also intended to make some points
about transparency and opacity, about the versaility and flexibility of
the standard gum formula, and other points about the gum process itself.
And while it was necessary to use prints I had made as examples to
illustrate the points I was making, the site wasn't intended to be about
my work. As I said at the outset, it would have been a mistake to draw
conclusions about my work as a whole from the examples shown on the
site, although I do appreciate the thoughtful comments I received from
people who enjoyed seeing examples of my printmaking. I've always
wondered how people coming new to the list can decide what advice about
gum printing to give credence to, without having some idea of the
printmaking skills of the "experts" giving the advice. If this site gave
people useful information in that regard, at least it had one useful
outcome.
I have taken the site offline and will be reorganizing it completely to
make it clearer and more informative. Instead of having the points I'm
making about the gum process on a separate technical page, I will have
the technical points more interwoven with the illustrations. At the time
I was building the site, I was worried more about how the images would
view on different systems. than I was about organizing the site for
clarity. I thought what I was doing was self-evident but I can see now
that I was mistaken.
It won't be right away, since I'm working on other projects at the
moment, but eventually, I promise, I will put up a better version of
this site, that covers not just those points but many other things that
beginning gum printers might want to know. Thanks for comments, and if
anyone has a response to this note that they want me to see, they should
send it to me privately, because I'm not watching the list at the
moment, in the interest of focusing my energy on these other projects.
Be good to each other,
Katharine Thayer
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