By the way

EVERYTHING i tried to work on yesterday got fucked up. every line i cut was crooked, every photoshop manipulation looked like shit etc. So everything i touched yesterday has to be redone. it was a waste of time. i guess i was just having an "off" day.

today is a new day. wish me luck :)

Getting Nervous

What i did: I made a group of new photo transfers which i brought in for the second small group crit. In the last crit we talked about lighting- source, color, diffusion and also construction/materials. In this crit it made sense to talk about image content, show more images, and discuss combinations or grouping options. I also brought in a black and a white frame so i could get feedback on which works best. This week I also bought and cut new wood and replaced the plywood with masonite which was suggested to me in the last crit. I found that it looks better, and is much easier to cut.

what i discovered: that black is the way to go for the boxes. i discovered this week that mixing black and white with color digitally gives me the same satisfaction as using colored light and i got a much more positive response with this technique. the trick to my project seems to keep producing in a way that still leaves the groupings flexible in the end. this is why i decided to make all the images the same size and orientation so that i can make groupings last without having to remake anything. Mark would like me to seek help in getting them to be all wired together and a decision about groupings would have to be made before then.

What's next: i am doing my best to get a few of the boxes completely constructed this weekend so that i can have conversations about whether they are fire safe and how to wire them together safely this week. this week is going to be very difficult in the realm of time running out. i'm scared.

here are some images i showed:

photo boxes try 2

what i did: i redid the photo box previously shown. I used new photo transfers, added layers of the image printed on transparency sheets, and added a layer of blue gel. the effect was much closer to what i am looking to achieve. i also made another, larger photo box using red light instead of gels in order to purposely have uneven colored light.

What i discovered: I got a lot of important, thoughtful feedback in my small group yesterday. It is difficult for me to cut pliwood well and i am not happy with the texture. my group agreed and suggested that i use masonite and get help with the cutting. we had a good conversation about making some decisions so that the little time remaining can be focused on less variables. i agree that its time to get practical about what is obtainable and how to maximize success with little time. feedback confirmed for me that my photo technique is working which makes me happy since i spent over a month figuring it out!

what's next: its time to find the right materials for the boxes, and come up with a system to mass produce them well so that i can focus my brainpower on the content of the photos, how many are in a group, how they are arranged and lit. in the immediate future i will be doing photo transfers to bring in and get feedback on and getting new materials for boxes. I've decided to make each image have its own small box and then group the boxes together afterwards. this way if i decide to redo or eliminate one photo, i don't have to completely redo all my work. it will open up more ability for unique groupings and wall arrangements.

yesterday i did not have my camera with me so later today i am going to photograph the 2 boxes i showed yesterday so i can post them on here.

photo box try 1

What i did: I took apart the lightbox i had made right before break in order to modify it. i played around with printing replicas of the photo transfers on transparencies in order to have multiple layers and darken the black tones. i found that photocopying the transfers with certain settings works better than scanning and printing. i got my colored gels in the mail and have been comparing that effect to colored light bulbs. I have a few different lightboxes i want to make next so i decided it would be more efficient to do all the photo transfers at once, then construct all the wooden boxes at the same time also. this week i edited, printed, and transferred 9 images which have been drying for over 24 hours and still aren't completely dry. i stocked up on wood and other materials such as a plexiglass, glue, nails etc. over spring break.

What i discovered: i'm on the right track. im getting results i'm happy with and am enjoying the making process. I'm worried about time, and about how my pieces will look as a collection in the gallery. i should have a redone piece and two new pieces to show for the crit next week.

What's next: over the next week ill be constructing and painting the new lightboxes and i'm looking forward to new feedback so i can take it into account as i continue with my collection.

here's my photobox thing from last crit when i stuck a red light in the top just playing around:


and here's how the photos originally looked:

yay lights

What i did: I put together plexiglass cubes to get a feel for whether i liked that project solution. I put double layered color photographs in one with white light on the inside. for the other cube i put red light inside and held a black and white photo transfer up to it. I got feedback on both that was very helpful.






what i discovered: that i dont want to make photo cubes! i decided i'd prefer the viewer to be able to see all the images in a series at one time. i also discovered that the glare problem i was complaining about with the texture of the gel is invisible when the print is illuminated! which is awesome for my purposes.

what's next: stephanie and i discussed a lightbox i could make in order to test how different types/colors of light some through photos and transfers. i think this is important for my decision making process so that's what im working on.

here's that dock lamp with blue bulbs in it that i never posted before

WHAT I DID: I did more experimenting with mixing vellum and plexi. Here is the magazine transfer I did onto glass with acylic gel:

Here is the laser printed transfer i did onto plexiglass which has a piece if vellum behind it:


WHAT I DISCOVERED is that I like the distressed look but I don't like the texture that the gel makes against the glass which can be seen at certain angles:


I also found that my images looked more vibrant and less washed out if I doubled up the vellum prints:



I played with different ways to attach vellum prints to plexiglass. This one is spray adhesive:



This one is modge podge:



I definitely like the look of that texture more, but it's still not what I want. I'm thinking the only way to avoid that effect all together is to sandwich the vellum print between glass without attaching it with any substance.

I also did a photo shoot this week but I'm not happy with the images so I want to redo them.

WHAT'S NEXT: To play with different ways to apply the acrylic gel in order to reduce the texture effect. Also, I have begun trying to make cubes out of plexiglass so that I can figure out what glues work/look the best and how thick the plexi needs to be/how the light looks inside it etc.

WHAT I DID: I changed the bulbs in my "dock" lamp so that almost half of them are blue. It definitely helped with having a more subtle flow of color and the mood more correctly matches my intentions now. I tried out a bunch of inkjet photo transfers. Of course some were more successful than others. I also tried transferring onto glass and plexiglass with acrylic gel. I have some ideas as far as content and new images I need to take so I've started gathering materials to do some shooting. Once I have the transferring technique decisions made and the correct images it will be simple to put the two together.

WHAT I DISCOVERED: That with inkjet prints, I'm not crazy about the transfers. However, I do like straight prints on fabric, plastic, and especially vellum. I found out that gel transferring doesn't work with inkjet prints. I had success with transferring a magazine image onto glass and some success transferring a laser printed photo onto plexi.

WHAT'S NEXT: Continuing to figure out the best technique/materials to get the desired effect. Also. doing some shooting this week so I have images I actually want to use for my final work. Lisa did finally reply to my email and I have a polaroid camera now so I'm still pursuing that process on the side.

Keepin' on Keepin' on

WHAT I DID: So I read this book I got on alternative photo processes and honestly it made me sad. I mean that is semi-irrelevant to my project, but it did. Nothing in it was particularly useful to my project at hand because when I checked it out from the library I didnt realize that every process in there is chemical/darkroom. It's straight up history of photographic processes stuff which means I was hooked and couldn't stop reading because I would love to spend my life learning and executing every single one of those dead art forms- I told you it was sad! The most it got into as far as digital use was how to make digital negatives. It had nothing about any type of transferring either. Total fail as far as book-picking but at least the other book is specifically about polaroid transferring.

My mom actually found a polaroid camera she forgot she had in her classroom. I'm going to snag that and see if it will work or not for my project. I still haven't received a reply from Lisa so I emailed her again in case it got lost or she forgot about it. I also went and talked to Sepideh about the photo transfer techniques she's using which is apparently similar to what Shay has tried (why has everyone already discovered this except me?) so she is a good resource for me also. I went and got some papers and fabrics and intend to have a variety of trial transfers for the crit on tuesday. I also got different bulbs for my lamp so that will be shown as well.

Can I just say that bringing in writing help was the best thing ever for me. I really had so much trouble writing the thesis and I expected her to just say she had no idea what I was talking about and leave me more lost and confused. Not true. Giving us a list of words to circle and phrases to watch for was exactly what I needed and makes fixing my writing seem like it's not this huge overwhelming task. In the meeting she gave me such great ideas as far as how to go about writing that will make the second time around so much easier. Whoever's idea that was- thank you.

WHAT I DISCOVERED: There's always someone who has done this (this being whatever it is that youre doing at the time) before. Which is great because you're not alone, you can learn faster etc. but it also makes me feel behind- like I must live under a rock or something. Oh well- I'll get over it. I'm happy to be considering other transfer options and now i'm thinking of simple things like printing on vellum. I know that sounds dumb that it never occurred to me before- but its occurred to me now so lets move forward. I believe the lamp I just made is a possible fire hazard since it gets so unbelievably hot but I feel clueless when it comes to safer, cooler colored lights. I know LEDs are cooler but I know nothing about them and always have thought of them as being too small for my work. Looking into new light sources might be important for my future work.

WHAT'S NEXT: Keep on reading. Keep on watching videos. Keep on talking to people. Keep on trying things out. Keep on learning. word.

WHAT I DID: I spent 20 hours finishing this lamp



Erica and I talked about how it has kind of a horror movie feel which is totally up my alley but not what my intentions were. We talked about how changing the colors of some of the bulbs might give it a more peaceful less creepy look. I might do this but i am going to wait until the feeling in my fingers comes back from

I received my polaroid film in the mail but still do not have a camera. I emailed joe to see if the school has any laying around and they don't. I checked kwanis and they didn't have any either. I read a forum online saying that for this film its recommended to get a polaroid 600 se which i looked for online and they go for like $600 on ebay. I emailed on thursday asking her questions about the process, camera, and books but haven't gotten a reply yet. Erica let me know that's there's another ip student who is also doing emulsion transfers and I intend on dropping in on her in her studio in the next couple days to talk to her and possibly have her show me the process in action. I got a few books from the library about photo transfering and alternative processes so while I'm talking to people and looking for a camera i have plenty to read and learn about this field.

WHAT I DISCOVERED: I know nothing about this and i have a lot to learn. i feel that even if my process is slow because i'm learning, it is important and exciting for me to experience and discover this.

WHAT'S NEXT: Learning as much as i can about this process from as many resources as possible: books, internet, people. Then trying it out because i know the first few times will most likely be failures. this is part of learning something new.

i think this is what i've been looking for

WHAT I DID: This week I started off being really confused from the december review. It's one thing to receive comments, but it's a completely different thing to decide which feedback is important to you and should be applied to your work. I found thinking about this to be a daunting task though very important. I hate the feeling of knowing there needs to be a change but not knowing what that change actually is. It was time to forget about the whole tattoo thing and move on so that I can stay productive and come back to it later. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to use as far as materials for my next topic but I'm sure about the topic- so at least I have one variable figured out! I know I want to convey an experience and feelings about that experience so that my audience gets at least a vague idea of why the experience has affected me. Hannah and I talked about keywords and tried to figure out the right language to focus on for this topic. I played with paper and shapes and i don't have a clear answer yet but i have to say that i enjoyed the process. i agree that adding a third dimension defintely adds something to the experience of my art but i have no experience with this! I've been looking at artists that make sculptures with fabric and it looks so simple and beautiful but i am so impressed by it. I also began looking at polaroid emulsion transfer work and other similar processes. this process brings something to the art that i can't explain- it just feels more personal and intimate to me than pulling a photograph out of the printer and pinning it to the wall. i think i'm in love with it. seriously. I do not have a polaroid camera but i did order polaroid 669 film which should arrive next week.

here are some images i liked:





jane linders


kathleen carr


michal macku


heather oeklaus


teresita fernandez


john toth


cynthia treen


esther solondz


WHAT I DISCOVERED: That i can't wait to try emulsion transfers- i am so excited!!! i think i would like to definitely experiment with putting transfers on wood, metal, plastic and glass with some of them involving light sources and some of them not. I feel that making an installation or an object that is 360 degrees isn't really my thing but to have an object that has thickness, that you can touch, that has holes or wrinkled fabric or some kind of texture is so attractive to me. we have entered a new realm people. my fear though is that since this is such a new process for me that i won't have time to make good work by april. i wish i would've gone in this direction last term.

WHAT'S NEXT: Printing on fabric and playing with it is an important step while i wait for my polaroid film to arrive. maybe i should gather materials i'm interested in transfering images onto?