Well, today turned into a bout of reorganization as I made the wise decision to move the printmaking studio from my bedroom (white carpet is not a friend to this artist...or, rather, this artist is not a friend to white carpet) to the basement. It’s come pretty far along, but the day’s work has left both rooms temporarily in shambles.
Change is wondrous, though.
Today’s word was pretty interesting, because it reminded me of yet another thing I’ve been wanting to experiment with for some time. While in France last year, looking forward to the prospect of getting into my very own darkroom upon returning to the states, I began to research darkroom techniques so as to be prepared for work. Quickly running out of new information (the online darkroom community, though large-ish, can get rather redundant after the beginner phase) I started to delve into alternative and long forgotten photographic processes. I spent long hours recording formulas and instructions in a notebook; copying from the tiny screen of my cell phone. I soon learned, though, that parents generally frown upon requests for toxic-sounding chemicals, and, therefore, the possibilities of exploring most of these processes became very limited.
Anyway, the point to this rather pointless story is that today’s word got me thinking of an alternative process that I remember learning of while staying a few miles from Castelnaud in southern France.
al-bu-men n. White of an egg.
The albumen process (in case you can’t guess) is one based around egg whites and salt. Painted onto thick paper, this mixture becomes a light sensitive emulsion. For today’s piece, I wanted to combine a recipe for making albumen prints and a character doing so.
I like the expression in the eyes of this character. Now, I just wish it could be me. Maybe I’ll get my act together one of these days and collect the ingredients on this list...
For now, goodnight and thank you for stopping by.
Xx
-r
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