wouldn't this make a lovely postcard?

Here is one version of the Gingko Grid that might just be installed next month at Sinclair College's Works on Paper Gallery. Progress has been slow on other pieces. I have three large tiled pieces and the Gingko Grid. If things go well I might have at least one other larger piece and the grid may grow to 15 pieces from the current 12.

Anyone have a roll of amberlith or rubylith that they want to part with?

the proverbial drawing board is an open field

noteworthy: Make your way to building 13 to see...

Bridgette Bogle has created a drawing installation as part of the 2010 Faculty show at Sinclair College's Triangle Gallery. Next month I will be across the way in the Works on Paper gallery concurrent with Glen Cebalash in the Triangle Gallery.

Back to the drawing board for a couple of projects. My first attempt at an Anthrotype got rained on and the very water soluble vegetable matter of the pokeberry juice washed away. The transparency didn't fair to well either. As of yesterday, I have begun attempt number two. It is in an open field in the South Park neighborhood. I plan to move the printing frame around, perhaps taking it to school to leave it in the practice field while the marching band does their drills. All in an attempt to get some sunlight to fall on the Anthrotype for long periods of time.

Over the last 9 months, perhaps longer, there has been a slight shift in the color of the Vandykes that I have been producing. The really rich dark brown that caught Chris Anderson's eye two years ago is gone. It's time to do some testing including re-visiting my old processing regime. Tonight I processed a print and went without using any citric acid in the processing. It seems to have made a difference. Only with a dry down and the morning light will I be able to tell.

Pokeberry Anthotype Day One -Three

I began the anthotype exposure two days ago. Based upon what I have seen after two days and knowing how light is at a premium in back of the house, I expect the exposure to take about 3 weeks.

did someone say "Pokeberry Anthotype"?

It's pokeberry harvesting season and while I am a little fuzzy on how edible they are, the birds love them and they are the perfect organic material to create an anthotype.

For those of you reading this who don't know what an anthotype is, let me offer a little information. The anthotype is yet another process invented by Sir John Herschel around 1842. It is a direct postive process because the sun bleaches away unprotected areas of a substrate coated with organic dye. If I were to use a photographic negative, I would get a copy of that negative in anthotype. If use a postive print or transparency such as the image above, I would get a single color postive copy of the picture. Here's a link to an exhibtion of anthotypes that took place at Ryerson University. http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/topographica/Anthotype.html

Herschel used pigments from flowers such as the Iris for this process. Contemporary practitioners have used beets and berries for creating their images.

This will be my first anthotype and I plan on giving the exposure about 3 weeks in the late summer early autumn Ohio sun to have a really strong image. I'll post here once the exposure is started.

Let the grand experiment begin.

The Art of the PhotoArchive published

University Press Antwerp (UPA) has published The Art of the PhotoArchive: 170 Years of Photography and Heritage. The book represents a collaboration between Roger Kockaerts, founder of Atelier pH 7, and art historian Johan Swinnen and contains many of the photographs exhibited last year at the Free University of Brussels.

The Art of the PhotoArchive's main aim is to assist in identifying types of photographs and the illustrations range from 19th century to contemporary photographs.

Gingko Photogram Lab Coat may be seen on page 291.

roots with dirt clumps in 16 pieces

Here is the second of my large scale pieces, Roots with Dirt Clumps in 16 Pieces. The issue of justifying this scale is resolved for me since I now notice the clumps of soil that I didn't see while preparing the negative. I am optimistic I can create at least 3 more large scale pieces, including a light ground one, for the Sinclair Exhibit in October.

tree bark in fourteen pieces as my height

Here is the start of new work. It remains in Vandyke brown but the scale of the piece and construction hopefully draw (even) more attention to the physical nature of the print.

Tree Bark in Fourteen Pieces as My Height is composed of 14 pieces of 9x7 inch vandyke brown prints pieced together with map pins. It actually is the same height (give or take a half inch) as me.

This will be one of at least four new large scale pieces to be shown at Sinclair College's "Works on Paper" gallery starting in early October. In fact the scale of the pieces is specific to the new display space on the fourth floor of building 13.

lost in translation

I've been wanting to do this for some time, namely look at an image at its earliest stage and compare it to one nearing completion. The left represents the Vandyke Brown print of the scanned botanical sample on the right.

For me it answers a couple of questions. The first being "why go through all the labor of printing this out as a Vandyke Brown print on an unusual paper?" The second question is somewhat related to the first question, "what remains of the original subject?"

Gushy on Chincoteague Island

This week Bridgette and I escaped Dayton for a few days. Jill and Tim invited us to stay at their beach house on Chincoteague Island. I managed to get to the water on two days. It was a mini vacation even though I brought some art documentation work with me which ate up most of Wednesday which was the day the salt cowboys ran the swimming of the ponies.

I'll be uploading more images to Flickr this week.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/frangst/

In the meantime here is an image from the carousel in the Chincoteague carnival grounds. This image was taken with a 55mm Diana lens on a Canon digital rebel. Gushy!

ohio state fair fine arts exhibition 2010

The Ohio State Fair opened up today. Besides the butter sculptures that Bridgette and I love so much, one should mention the Fine Arts Exhibition. This year the Schanbogles are represented (both Bridgette and I have work in the professional divsion) and while we were not able to attend last night's reception we will eventually make it over there to see everyone's work.

In the meantime some record keeping. My accepted entries that I will never again be able to submit to the state fair are...

Hairy Cemetery Nut, left

Decaying Leaf (Apron), middle

Split Pod (Chaps), right

a piece of sky

one of the things I do on the side is document art work. For the last eight years I have had the opportunity to photograph objects and installations by Suzanne Silver.

Today was one such day with the session spanning three rooms, lots of loose work on paper, warm (hot) humid temperatures and about seven hours including the jaunt over to west campus.

There was a parking ticket...grrrrrrrr...but I did park in a loading zone for four hours....grrrrr...but it was a hot, humid, sunny Sunday.

it's what hot, humid days are for

lumen prints, it's what the hot, humid days of summer are for.

continuing the found on a walk theme. These seeds are from about 3 houses south of our house. Might even be in front of the house David Esrati's parents are living in.

working title

Now I am a point where the title of the vandyke brown prints, Forces of Nature, seems to be a disservice.

In October I will be showing a different version of this work at Sinclair Community College's Works on Paper gallery. Three quarters will be new.

I was pondering this a couple of days ago. I was experimenting with:

from my walks; walking, wanting walking, walk

...mainly as a way to bring the viewer into the process of making these images, their selection, even their inception.

so the (working and hopefully final) title will be:


from walking

and medium:

Vandyke Brown Prints (Photography)

visiting with old friends

Talk about things that don't get talked about when one is talking with someone about art. On the list of many things about being an artist that isn't "fun". Imagine cleaning out your basement and visiting a therapist. Now mix the two and you have "revisiting old work" or in the case of the self-portraits, "visiting with old friends".

I was pulling stuff up from the basement to show Kay Koeninger for a future exhibit on portraits. Don't get me wrong. I love the work from my thesis exhibition. How could Narcissus not love his own reflection? I don't love how I've stored the work (it's big for how I work). There's old artist tape and velcro sticking to the velcro not meant to be in contact. I was an installation artist in 2002. Now, I think I'm a mat and frame artist.

So I will be spending some time this week with old friends, trying to figure out who will be going to the Riffe gallery in late January and how exactly an installation in 2002 will translate, in part, to a new space in 2010.

beardos five

Why did I pull the Fisher Price Fun Photo Maker off the shelf and start playing with it (again)? I have a love hate relationship with this camera and dread having to reload the pink cassettes with thermal fax (point of purchase receipt) paper once they run out. It only focuses well at arms length or closer so it is a natural for self-portraits.

What's changed since the mis-taken exhibition in 2002? I have a wisp of goatee that looks like it has been inspired by Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas.

So with that said, I present to you my fifth attempt to capture my beard with the Fun Photo Maker. Here is Beardos #5.

gingko leaf #13

I am expanding the grid of gingkos. Slowly.

Here is Gingko Leaf #13 which I will tentatively call Squashed Gingko M.

meet B.O.B., burnt out bulb or Bob for short

meet B.O.B., burnt out bulb or Bob for short.

One thing leads to another. Like a FIXX song from the 80's. I was finally over the proverbial hump printing a commision in palladium when ...

...the bulb burnt out. The burnt out bulb became a obstacle and a subject. The silver nitrate is running out. There's plenty of gum and potassium dichromate. My wife has contributed tubes of water color. Burnt out bulb. B.O.B.

Bob in eggplant.

Sorry for the speckles. The successful print is in DVAC. This one has a failure of size (PVA medium).

Tavis Lothar has finally exhibited a print.

this is a cigar

This is a cigar. This is a catnip cigar. The illustration is your cat smoking a catnip cigar.

My question: "Which Phillip Morris catnip executive dreamed up the catnip cigar?"

happy summer (solstice)

happy summer solstice, 2010!

Someday I would like to experience white nights and (in the winter) the northern lights.

Here is an image take 14 years ago on the first day of summer.

Sundial, Torrey Pines State Beach, 1996, silver gelatin print

Absurdly Behind the Times, Alejandro

I promised myself that the blog would be a way to keep track of work going out into the world even if it is not that far away.

In May, "One Night Absurd" happened and I delivered to pieces for the two nights of the event. See, only one night was absurd. The preview party the night before with the $100 ticket price was not absurd. The lighting was absurd but who am I to complain since I didn't help install.

Amanda Tirey Graham did much of the work and I never properly thanked her for buying some work a couple of years ago.

For the record of what I can never submit to an OAL juried show ever again...

"Split Pod (Like Chaps)" and "Hairy Cemetery Nut" were both in the ONA.

Recently,Bridgette and I both found out that we got work into the Ohio State Fair Fine Arts exhibition. This led to a really wonderful prestigious opportunity which I might elaborate on soon once it becomes official so never, ever look at state fair art exhibit with a disdainful eye.