25 June 2009
summer color
7:30 in the morning came hard yesterday. And what’s worse, 7:30 actually came a whole hour earlier when the crows decided to stage a shrieking dance-off on the roof of Long House. I tried to stay in bed ‘til my alarm, but it wasn’t easy. This is not enough sleep. I’ve just started here, why am I trying to kill myself?
Wednesday was actually the last of the initial rush of demos, and I was looking forward to getting it over with. In part it was due to the fact that I was showing a technique I’d never really done, making these full-color gum prints from digital separations. My hours of tests last night were ultimately a failure, but taught me plenty – that I needed to work in my old method of many many thin layers, instead of working with too much paint, and also that the way I was making separations was in fact rather simple and would work well in class.
Yes, I work mostly with old historical processes, but I am no Luddite. I am on the damn computer way too much, what with graphic design projects, some website stuff and general geekiness. But one thing I’ve never done is teach anything on the computer. I mean, I know the key commands now, but I have no memory of where the various menu controls are. Part of the problem is that I much prefer making art by Hand (and by Alchemy) rather than just by Math. The other is that I absolutely hate the Pictorico film that is the standard in a class like this. It’s thin and ugly and can still show some digital artifacts, even on decent printers like the one we had. Scott had ordered eighty sheets of it.
When the class had gathered at 10, I started in by declaring today’s demo a “special case” of gum bichromate, and one that would take some trials and tweaking if they wanted a perfectly (or even closely) color-balanced print. In fact, I had little faith that any of them were going to really try it, or if so, only a couple. They had been making such strong work from the very beginning, and every single student was already embarking on larger projects. They had all begun gathering materials (wood, wasps’ nests) and making sketches (of image grids and large collage ideas…) However, I knew that some of the things I’d show them that morning could be useful for the whole class – if only in using up the Pictorico film for the students working digitally.
I explained the basics of the film, and its problems, then launched into some Beginners Computer Crap just in case anyone wasn’t up to speed. We talked about useful image adjustments, the negatives required for gum, and the steps to making properly labeled 3-color separations. We also talked about how best to use this thin Pictorico film for these processes (one answer: print two in register, for double the density.) There were lots of questions about the film, but just as many about other chemical techniques and materials. They already had so many great ideas. I told them I’d be working on making the color print from our demo separations throughout the day, but that they should get to work right away. No one hesitated at all. As they scattered, I gave them one assignment for Thursday: for at least half the day, stay away. I told them to go shoot, or go explore the other studios or lovely Downtown Spruce Pine. We’d have this day to crank, and then it was break time. On Friday, we’d resume.
Later that afternoon, Mark our studio coordinator said, “This is just about as perfect a Penland day as you can get. The weather, the class, the energy…” and I couldn’t agree more. After that long rainy Spring in New York, which apparently they shared here, we were now having perfect summer weather – cool in the morning and at night, with afternoons of great hot sun in which to laze about in the grass while the prints cooked. The students seem to get along just fine, perhaps out of no more camaraderie than that of a group of people all working really hard and buzzing around the studio, but it was great for now. I could sense a couple of possible trouble spots, but so far everyone seemed to laugh off any little annoyances. They were too busy to be bothered.
I was still watching carefully my older student, in part because he could handle so much more information (and I wanted to learn more from him as well!) He was told not to bring his own chemistry for a process he’d developed, but I encouraged him to order a little bit so we could try this crazy idea he had. After demos on Friday, we only had one more on Monday and the rest would be time to work and play and talk. Maybe even I’d get something done for myself…
I let the day slip away, slowly building a rather unsatisfactory full-color gum (needs more color) while answering questions and offering encouragement. There was no way I’d be working late again, and after a leisurely dinner, an incredibly inspiring walk through the Print Studio* and then the evening’s slide presentations, I came home, had a scotch and went to bed.
