Took the paper fibers off and dried the image transfer I tried out yesterday and it turns out that glass is REALLY difficult to transfer images on to since it's not absorbent. I realized this process made the image too fragile and wasn't translucent enough to see through...am planning on simply adhering the image printed on transparent film directly to the glass for an easier and more successful process (I hope).

Setting up for Open Studio week #2

Setting up my studio for open studio visits for next week...will not be showing finished pieces but am displaying the printed images to give viewers the general idea. Finished pieces will probably be 13''x19'' with two of the same image layered: one on paper against the wall with the other on transparent film behind glass layered on top of the other with an inch or so of space between them. Will leave a piece of glass and an image transparency in the studio so that viewers may hold them up against the matching image on the wall and visualize how it will be.

Attempted to transfer images on to glass tonight. 

Trial one - painted matte gel medium on to glass then pressed down image on to glass...failed.

Trial two - painted matte gel medium on to image then pressed down on to glass...better, but still failed.

After trial two I realized why this process probably doesn't work on a glass medium specifically: glass isn't absorbent, whereas, wood on the other hand is and would probably accept the image transfer much more successfully...am trying out another method with the image printed on plain white paper instead of transparency film, much like how I used gel transfer for my instillation work. After painting gel onto the glass I smoothed the paper image on top the glass...will wait till it dries completely and then will wet the paper and rub off the paper fibers.

If this process is unsuccessful I'm thinking about simply adhering the image on transparent film to the glass rather than trying to transfer the image. Either way, my goal is to show the image on the glass and maintain color and clarity of the image and a smooth surface.

Had a really good critique tonight...just one of those nights where it felt good. Accomplished a lot, helped me to solve some display issues I've been thinking about and I'm really enjoying the feedback I've been getting about my new body of work and its relation to my ongoing instillation work...

Started the night off in Kate's studio participating in her "Ten Minute Show" where I and nine other artists crammed into her small studio for ten minutes and painted and marked up rectangles painted on the wall. It was hectic, crammed, sweaty and exciting. I had peers and professors smushed up less than an inch away from me, elbows precariously close to my face, paintbrushes and fingers flying with paint every which way and absolutely no idea of what I was doing. It was great, if anything to get the juices flowing and an excuse to go crazy with other artists in a 6'x6' ft space.

During my critique I showed photos from my last three photo sessions since I hadn't gotten critiqued in a while. I laid out images printed on 8''x11'' matte paper and transparency film and a few on 13''x19'' matte paper to give an example of size that I'm considering going for. I really wanted to facilitate connection between the subject and the viewer so I thought that life size proportions would be powerful. I wanted to show people the images on transparency film and explain the image transfer process I will be trying out on the glass to give them a better idea of the finished product....while I did so, something really cool happened. People started layering the images on transparency film on top of the same image on paper, and started playing around with space between the two and balancing clarity with unfocused imagery. This brought my images to a whole new level and helped to solve questions about displaying the work...I've been conscious about the transparent quality of glass and been thinking up ideas about how to prevent the image from getting washed out. Layering the image on glass with the image on paper solved that and produced a true experience for the viewer. I really wanted to create a space between the subject and the viewer to focus on that concept of isolation and separation. Since glass is an integral part of the process photographing my subjects, it seemed fitting to involve it some way into the final piece. Layering the images on two different glass planes separated the image from the viewer enough, yet still allowed the viewer to peer in and connect with the person in the photograph on a personal and emotional level. It was a great suggestion and I am immensely looking forward to playing around with the effects of the two planes and images interacting with each other. I'll post pictures of my experimentation as time goes on, so stay tuned!

We also talked about solving technical problems such as how to connect the pieces of glass to each other with fasteners and/or potentially making shadow box type forms to hold the piece. Also considered trying out plastic instead of glass to lower material cost, but I'd really like to do justice to the work and there's something about glass that I find much more appealing. As I piece together the work I'll be thinking about lighting and how to make it work with the lighting in the photographs themselves. I am really excited by these ideas and the collaboration with my peers and professors who are interested and inspired as I am to really bring my pieces together in a successful and meaningful way. I've truly learned a lot this past year about myself as an artist and gained courage to act on my ideas and bring my creations to life...to push my ideas (and photographs) off and beyond paper...to understand what it means to create an "experience" for my viewers. Something that goes beyond the wall and paper and reaches out and touches you. Something that brings you in, makes a connection and leaves an impression...a residue, something that questions, something that feels and makes you feel. Something that, in a sense, lives...and speaks to us, because we are, well, living.

I've decided to begin writing down words that people say about my work which speak out and stick with me from now on. I find that they really give voice to the character of what I'm making and help to illuminate where I've been and where I'm going

Words that came up in tonight's critique...
...transcend...delicate...golden...light...intimate...elegant...experimental...tenderness...feeling

Fifth session...this one hit me in a different way than the previous ones. Out of the five people I've photographed so far, I'm closest to this girl. I've lived with her for the past three and a half years and she's seen me at my best and at my worst. I feel as if I've known her for years longer and surprisingly, these pictures showed me something new today, facial expressions I've never quite seen on her before. Where they came from I don't know, but again and again as I build on this work I realize how intimate these photos are, how much they can say to you. A way to communicate what is not always so easy to say in words.

I find that it is so easy to look inward to ourselves and stay there, to become self-obsessed with our own problems. It's easy to fall into our own hole wrapped up in troubles we feel are all our own, easy to convince ourselves that others don't understand, easy to just keep our head down...These photographs connect me to others and remind me to look beyond my own doorstep, to reach out, to ask, to smile...to connect to a family member, a friend, a stranger, someone out there who might think they're alone...someone I might've never noticed if I hadn't looked up.

Fourth session...Over the past week I have been thinking about how to display this work in a way that does the photos and people justice. The large piece of glass I've been using as a prop has really stuck in my mind; the relationship and tension between myself and my subjects separated by glass. I'm researching methods of printing onto a glass medium rather than paper. The glass adds something to the experience. I'd like to have the viewer separated from the subject (photo) in some way.

Third session in my new photographic series...the more time I spend with these photographs, the more time I feel like I am spending with these people...their lives, their losses, their hopes. Parts of them that aren't usually at the surface. A vulnerability and an inward look into themselves I am moved to have been allowed to see. The three individuals I have photographed so far, I know fairly well. I haven't figured out how I feel about that yet and how my relationship with my subjects play into the character of this series. Soon I'd like to photograph a few individuals who I don't know as well and see how that experience plays into the balance of things. 

Something happens within me as my artwork grows. It's that feeling that you can't quite describe, it's that thing you quite can't put your finger on. I suppose that's the reason you don't fully comprehend the value of what you've created until after the fact, because as much as you'd like to think you're creating the work, it has also been creating you.