Field notes

[Terri]

This one is new, and after the myriad of decisions and second-guesses on color palettes that I put myself through for the Helen/Dogs piece, this one just about built itself.

This is an image transfer onto white tissue paper. I seem to be reaching for the tissue paper a lot recently! I took an original photo of mine and, after printing it out onto plain inkjet paper, I taped it face down to the tissue paper (also taped down).

Here's the original image (after some heavy increase in contrast):

Using a clear xylene marker, I transferred it onto the sheet. When I was done going over the image with the marker, and brayering over it, I lifted up the copy paper and the transfer looked something like this:

It actually looked better than this one: this is a little thin and I did another one, but this is the only work-in-progress shot I have of it.


I then painted a 6x8" canvas, and (crookedly) glued a small piece of sheet music from an old book on music theory:

I tore around the image transfer tissue to get the size I needed to fit over the sheet music. Then I applied soft gel medium over the piece of sheet music and, while it was still wet, I pressed the tissue paper over the sheet music and smoothed it out (carefully!). I coated the tissue paper with more gel medium (matte finish) to seal it well over the sheet music.

Final piece:

As with all image transfers, if there had been any text in the original shot, I would have flipped the photo horizontally before printing, to account for that reversal, but here it didn't particularly matter. I do like the process, and may do something similar on a larger scale. Working with the wet tissue is about the only fraught part of the whole thing. Thanks for looking!

 

[Enyaw]

That’s a cool project. nice finish.
I have been on the lookout for a monster knarled tree in a clearing. Guess I’m gonna have to get out of my car and walk a trail.

 

[Terri]

Thank you, Wayne (and Sanlynn)!

Yes, Wayne, you should get out more!

 

[Enyaw]

Yes, Wayne, you should get out more!

. .. oh yea. Oh, btw, I forgot to mention; love the name “Field notes”. You’re really branching out.

 

[Jo Castillo]

This is so nice. Love the whole idea. Name and result.

 

[Artyczar]

I love how this turned out! It's an amazing piece that should hang in a gallery! I even love the copy-paper portion. It came out ghostly and cool! What a great idea.

My only note: I personally would not have used the words on it, but that's me, and you're you. I do like words and text in art, but here it seems a little spoon-fed. I really don't mean that as any discouragement because I think it's still an amazing piece. I would have still titled it "Field Notes," however. I just think the image stands on its own here without the collaged words. Please take this in the nicest possible way. That's only how I mean it, and it's just one dope's opinion.

 

[Enyaw]

Ayin: she could made them to the large print and used them as the page title or foot note. Just a thought.

 

[Terri]

Jo, Ayin - thank you both so much for your comments!

Ayin, no worries. I really appreciate your thoughts. I added text to the Helen/dog thing and thought it added context, and I realized I was mentally calling this one Field Notes, so I added it.

But I totally get what you're saying here. The Helen collage is whimsical and goofy, and the text seems to fit right in. I'm not certain that this one needed it, either, though I decided to do it mainly to ground it a bit.

It's funny that you zoomed right in on the one thing that was giving me pause. I truly value your perspective, so don't ever hold back.

I even love the copy-paper portion. It came out ghostly and cool! What a great idea.

Just to clarify - the image was printed on copy paper, onto white tissue paper, and it's the tissue paper that gets glued down. I think that's what gives it that ghostly look!

 

[Enyaw]

Should have read to the same print as the notes…one day I will learn to proof read.

 

[Donna T]

This is awesome, Terri, and thanks for showing the steps that you took to get to the end result! Tissue paper is thin and fragile but so wonderfully transparent when it gets wet. I've never heard of a xylene marker - is that a printmaking thing or something you use with photography?

 

[Terri]

Thank you, Donna! Yes, I'm learning how fun working with tissue paper can be, once you get past the fear factor. I made some beautiful messes before getting a good outcome.

The xylene marker is part of a whole lineup of Chartpak Ad markers. This is their colorless blender, which I'm assuming blends their colored markers nicely. They all look like regular Sharpie type markers, so it's not intimidating to use. The tip is a wide one with a flat tapered edge, very easy to apply. Comes with warnings about the xylene content - I'm not overly sensitive to this kind of thing, but it's good to know. I found it no worse than nail polish remover.