I had heard of but was not entirely aware of the Oxford American until, just a few weeks ago, they asked if they could use my image, "Teepee" in their upcoming issue. Just received a couple of complimentary copies the other day and was pleasantly surprised at not just the reproduction, which is fantastic, but the magazine itself seems like real gem. Tis an honor to be printed on their pages.

My first Van Dykes, oh my!

"Double Wide - Sequatchie Valley, TN"

"Road Runner - Sequatchie Valley, TN"

"No Parking - Charleston, SC"

"House - Charleston,SC"

"Telephone Pole - South of the Border, SC"

Some small, 6" x 6" Van Dykes as learned from the mentor herself, Alyssa Salomon... thanks.

Paper as Paper

As I mentioned in the previous post, the premise of the recent workshop I assisted at Penland was to make our own paper to print photographs on. I set a bad example early on when I realized that I like the paper for what it was, without any pictures on it. I was also getting really excited about these silly catch phrases that I found repeated on all of our signs and billboards.

These pieces are made by laying down a base sheet of a certain color paper. Then I would pull a second sheet of a different color paper that had vinyl text attached to the mold, preventing pulp from settling in that area. Finally, I would lay that sheet on top of the previous one, and where the vinyl letters were, the base sheet would show through. My mind is still racing over all of the possibilities here.

Post Penland, Installment #1

Somehow I made it through another session at the Penland School of Crafts. My 15th to be exact. You would figure, with the 14 prior classes under my belt, that I would know what I was getting myself into. One might think that I would have learned how to pace myself, how to deal with studio assistant needs, and how to avoid staying up till 3 each night after working in the studio till 1am. Next time, I might just go in expecting the unexpected...

Really though, it was another amazing workshop. It was called, From Pulp to Print and was co taught by the paper maker Helen Hiebert and alternative process photographer Alyssa Salomon. The fabulous Jamie Knight and myself were their noble assistants and together we moved that "big ship" through the process of making our own paper, doing alternative process photographs on that paper, and finally, to create some kind of sculptural form from the prints... a lot to learn in 2 1/2 weeks. Jamie and I did manage to find some time for our own work during the class which I will share with younz over the next few posts, starting with these two Cyanotypes on handmade paper.