haunted sleepwear

Lately, I have been fixated on vascular support stockings. They trigger a memory of seeing my father wear them. Occasionally I would see his stockings folded after being laundered.  At other times I might would actually see him wearing them because of his pajama shorts he wore close to bed time.

I made the first version of the pajama shorts in February specifically for an exhibition at Proto Gallery in Hoboken, New Jersey. I made two additional versions early this summer. Number two was made with different coats of saffron and rainbow chard. Number one and number three were made with straight chard. Number three will be on display in Columbus starting tomorrow as part of the Fine Arts Exhibition at the Ohio State Fair. The most recent version ditches the pajama shorts in my attempt to create a sleepwear creature. When she saw the finished red tulip anthotype, my wife Bridgette said she was reminded of one of the ghost hitchhikers from Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion. Disney updated a few of their classic attractions in the last 15 years. So if you want to see the connection, look for an older photograph taken at the amusement park. I am including one appropriated from tvbythenumbers.net.

Pajama Shorts with Anti-Embolism Stockings Number One

Pajama Shorts with Anti-Embolism Stockings Number Two

Pajama Shorts with Anti-Embolism Stockings Number Three

Bed Jacket with Anti-Embolism Stockings Number One

Ghost Hitchhikers from Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion

a good studio day

Today, I pulled four prints which, in antho typist's language, translates to "stopping" an exposure. Most are life-sized but this tiny one is from a Barbie doll. The scale would be perfect for mail art if I could make many of these. The size is about 3 x 5 inches and the anthotype was made using leftover beet root. The exposure took less than a week.

Relatively Easy

It may seem like I only do anthotypes. My studio practice lately seems to confirm this. It is summertime and the anthotypes are easy. Relatively. 

I just rediscovered my second stash of spring clamps which means that I can put together a lot of anthos at once. One of the pigments I am working with comes from some old beet root bits like the root and just below the stalk. It is a relatively fast pigment. In the picture below, the new anthotype just went out this morning around 9 am. The bedjacket anthotype on the right has been getting sun off and on since last Friday at 10 am.

There may be quite a few of the square ones this summer. So far I like the shape better than the long rectangle. 

relative motion in print

Last weeks Dayton City Paper, our free weekly paper, published a review of the zoetropes on display at the Dayton Art Institute's Experience Center. The review is based upon an interview of Bridgette Bogle and myself by Susan Byrnes, a sculptor I have shown with in the past.

You can link to the article here at addressing dress

I lost my heart

What happens to a chard anthotype made by strong sunlight when it is displayed in and around a window that gets a few hours of sunlight most days? It slowly fades away. Come out to the opening to see what ten days of such exposure can accomplish. The anthotype is mounted to one side of an "A" sign. The reverse side has a protected detail of the larger anthotype under a dark cloth. 

Bed Jackets Times Two

It is difficult to know where to start, when I haven't blogged about my making in three months. 

I am currently using red tulip petals collected during early May. Truly gleaned because allof the petals were on the ground. The ones that were too damp, we're cleaned in water and ground up in a mortar and pestle. That first red tulip anthotype of the year was one of two images I've made involving two bed jackets. The exposure was stopped late last month and is a bit more narrative than the first double bad jacket image (made from yellow onion skin). 

Below are both of the images. Top: yellow onionskin "Two Bed Jackets". Bottom image: "Puppet Show" in acidified red tulip.