“a fond memory of the future” 2015 20″ x 16″ Chemigram Silver Gelatin Print
Tabitha Berry
“the tide came in to listen” 2015 20″ x 16″ Chemigram Silver Gelatin Print
Tabitha Berry
“we all fancy things unreal” 2015 20″ x 16″ Chemigram Silver Gelatin Print
Tabitha Berry
Untitled, 2015 20″ x 16″ Chemigram Silver Gelatin Print
Tabitha Berry
If you have never participated in a postcard swap (or any swap) before, I would encourage you to to find a group and try one out. This will be my third time participating and I have received almost all cards from those committing to the events. The swaps not only get me motivated to experiment and play (which are my two favorite aspects of creativity), but I also receive delightful handmade items in the mail. This particular group that I participate with includes individuals from around the globe.
For this swap, I decided to slightly alter some test prints and cast-offs from a past series of mine, Insentient Portrait Series, 2011 (this series can be viewed on my previous blog post). I have a couple of definite favorites and I certainly hope that the recipients of the cards are pleased. Some cards have more work on them, whereas the others I felt “less is more”.
I’d also like to share what my “workspace” looks like from time to time. It is temporary and ever-moving about the house. My family is very patient with me when I set it up. (Forgive the blank walls. We renovated this past summer and I just haven’t figured our arrangement quite yet.)
Swap sponsered by — ShannonGanshorn — http://www.musingsonrealities.blogspot.ca/
Insentient Portrait Series, 2011
Antique malls are ever-changing “cabinets are curiosity” for me. I particularly enjoy the personalities of each booth and how they are displayed. Within these booths, I find that the mannequins, dolls, and statues that live within these spaces are dramatis personae – not just objects on a shelf. Like humans, some have a long-term or permanent role to play and some are unsettled, filling a position for only a brief period of time. The one thing they have in common is the vendor of the booth. The vendor is the master that controls the role(s) they are to play. Although I like to call these spaces “found scenes”, the act of photography essentially changes the scene from a still life to a portrait of that character in its habitat.
This series of portraits is an exploration of the identity of these inanimate figures brought to life by their role in life, and how the viewer draws on the clues and their own interpretation to create meaning.
Shot with Twin Lens Medium Format Camera
Silver Gelatin Fiber Paper
Here is the deal. I love hand-drawn type — my skills are not refined. I am literally quite elementary at it.
You have to start somewhere to improve, though. Right? And in such cases, someone has to be on the receiving end of another’s creativity. The following images are from a hand-drawn 2015 calendar that I made for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law for Christmas. It’s nothing fancy, but I enjoyed the final result. I hope they do as well.
I made a peculiar discovery today. A gross but comical and intriguing discovery. A discovery that involves a normal unimpressive red grading pen and a normal unimpressive housefly.
While on the computer earlier, something about the pen caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought one of my children punched a hole into an eraser with the end of the pen. Then, I thought that somehow some thread ended up in the tip. I stopped just short of picking the thread out with my fingernails when I realized what was in the end of the pen! (*shiver)
A fly!
A fly?!?
No way!
Well that couldn’t happen if you tried!
I recall the pen getting separated from the cap. I’ve had the cap on my dresser for awhile, waiting to find it’s missing mate. I found the pen the other day and capped it.
We have been remodeling our living room, dining room and kitchen. And with the remodel … flies make their way in through open doors and windows. I suppose this guy found his way into inside the cap. And when I capped the pen. Well, unfortunately, the fly was trapped unknowingly. (*yuck!) He apparently attempted an escape, but to no avail.
Video selection from my video installation, “Playing with Process”
Video selection from my video installation, “Playing with Process”
From August through December, I worked on a semester-long project for an advanced Scultpture class that was to become a video installation that I felt was a success. I’ll share some footage from it soon. … Meanwhile, here is a video that didn’t make the cut, but it is one that I still enjoy.
Gum Bichromate printing is an alternative process that allows you to print as many or few colors as you prefer, using watercolor pigment. Here are a few trial prints and how they look after each color pass. Each pass consists of coating the paper with sensitized pigment solution, drying, contact print exposure under UV light, development, and drying.
“silhouetted posies”
Cyan Pass using Cyanotype & Yellow Pass
(with Gum Bichromate printing you can use Cyanotype for the Cyan Pass in lieu of a blue pigment)
Magenta and Black Pass
(The Black Pass tends to stay very light. You can build any color up with multiple passes)
Final Cyan Pass with Cyanotype
(In a smaller print the cyanotype responded nicely, these were 3″ x 4″. The cyanotype can have a tendency to bead up on larger surfaces that have a lot of gum built up).
“summertide”
This is a trial print in which I was working with curves and a different method for preparing my digital negatives in attempt to get more detail in the hair and face.
Cyan Pass using Cyanotype
Yellow Pass
Magenta Pass
Black Pass (The method I was trying did not work well on this seperation negative. It did not block the highlights and muddied down the print).
Final Cyan Pass (Cyanotype. This is an example on how the Cyanotype may not work well on larger prints. This is around 7″ x 11″ and you can see areas in which the cyanotype beaded up). You will also be able to see that this method compared to the image below, can produce flat flat/dull results. I have not tried to build the colors up with multiple passes … that may be the answer to producing a richer look.
This is the “summertide” print using gum for each layer, including the Cyan pass. The exposure time was a lot higher as well. While I find the rich quality to be absolutely gorgeous, I lose the detail because the pigment layers begin to block up. In the mean time, I’ll continue to work to find a happy medium between the above print and this print.
“flux” A/P
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“speckled avis”
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“catalogue”
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