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Wow, what a difference colour makes!
I recently posted a couple of photograms that I’d started with my AA2A research.So, I did a couple of sessions in black and white before Chris, the technician showed me how to do colour printing (well, technically, didn’t show me, as unlike with B&W where you can expose and print using the red safe-light, with colour you have to work in complete darkness as anything you can see, the paper can see. As you can imagine, its not exactly easy lining stuff up, fumbling around and getting the exposed paper into the print developer doodah thingy, which has to be the right way up….
I’ve absolutely loved exploring the photo-grams, and really wish I could do more. Have so many ideas on how it could be expanded further, by using different combinations of glass, whether that be shape, pattern or colour, but also would love to explore scale.
Alas, I ran out of time, and we have our exhibition opening next week, so I’ve had to bite the bullet and work with what I have already got. I won’t show you everything just yet, as there’s an exhibition at the University of Derby for that purpose, but here’s a few of my favourites (including a couple more B&W for interest!)
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A New Way of Looking at Glass
Last autumn, I got accepted on to the AA2A Scheme at the University of Derby. It’s a residency programme, offered to several practising artists/makers over a range of educational establishments. It’s intended to help take time develop ideas and to offer the opportunity to use facilities we might not usually get access to.I became eligible to apply last year and got accepted for a place on the scheme. Unfortunately, a few things happened in my personal life which meant I struggled to find the time to spend on the project (involvement means spending a certain amount of time on-site and being visible to and accessible for students), but finally about a month ago, I was able to spend a bit of time on it at last.I’d wanted to explore new ways of ‘seeing’ glass, which fascinates me in all forms – not just because of it’s beauty, and it’s odd combination of fragility and strength but in other ways too; technically, it’s an incrediblly versatile material which can be used for an amazing array of applications, and it can look so different – of course, quite often, with glass, it’s about what we can see through it and what can or can’t get through it – heat, light.I used to do a lot of photography and used to enjoy developing my own films and printing from my negatives. Of course with the digital age, I don’t go in the dark room any longer, so having the opportunity to use the facilities at the university was too good to pass up.Glass does funny things to light – you can’t always ‘see’ what it’s doing, but expose traditional photo paper and it reveals where some of that light is actually going (this again appeals to the scientific side of me).Take this image:
Copper wire and glass photogram Remembering that this is photographic paper usually used with a negative – so the dark bits are where all light has got through, the lighter bits are where less has got through (still with me??). Nothing unusual really, this is a round of glass with copper wire wrapped through the middle. Of course, copper wire is solid, opaque, won’t let light through. But those dots? They’re air bubbles. The solid white line around the edge – that’s the curve of the glass. These bubbles and curves are distorting (well, refracting) the light in such a way that it’s not hitting the development paper. I think it’s fascinating.Here’s another one -you’ll probably recognise the style/design, people say it’s very ‘me’ – my textured glass.
Photogram There’s absolutely loads more I’ve done – I spent a couple of sessions simply working out which glass works best, out of the different techniques I use for making – just working in black and white paper is fascinating and has endless options.Just wait until you see what happens in colour… -
Experimentals…
I’ve been playing a little lately (in between making templates, working out frames, preparing clay and delivering sessions and so on for the Olympic Legacy project. Actually, its been fun “playing” with clay again, and I might have to do some more…) meanwhile, here’s a sneak peak at what I have been doing with glass – snaps on my phone, not top quality mind!
