0 comment Friday, May 23, 2014 | admin
When reading Hubble: A Journey Through Space and Time the other day, I was astonished to discover that that a bubble nebula exists in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Source
The bubble has formed due to extreme stellar winds and radiation from a nearby star which is 10 times more massive than our sun. This means that the bubble itself is six light years across, that is one big bubble!
I was excited by this discovery, as I have been working with soap bubbles in my art work for about a year now. I'm interested in the universality of roundness from the micro to the macro, so of course, bubbles fascinated me for this reason.
This is a photogram I made from blowing soap bubbles on to photo-sensitive paper and exposing the paper to light for 4 seconds. The result looks astonishingly like a far-away galaxy.
I have made lots of posts on soap bubbles in art and science, here is a directory of bubble-related entries:
"Bubbles" / "A Child's World" by Sir John Everett Millais
How To Make A Photogram With Soap Bubbles
Artist: Kim Pimmell / / Soap Bubbles & Ferrofluid
Artist: Jane Thomas // Soap Bubble Experimentation
Artist: Richard Heeks // Soap Bubble Planet Photographs
Nature.com // Hurricanes On A Soap Bubble
Do Bubbles Freeze? // Emmanuel Coupe
Living Inside Your Own Bubble
BBC: Bubbles In Space
Melanie K's Bubble Planet
Artist : Pery Burge // Inksplosions & Bubbles
Soap Bubble Popping In Slow Motion
Artist: Tomas Saraceno // Bubble Sculptures
Artist: Simon Thomas // Studies Of The Soap Bubble
Bubble-Smith Sterling Johnson
Labels: Art, Bubble, Bubble Directory, Bubbles, Emmanuel Coupe, Jane Thomas, Kim Pimmel, Melanie K, Ngc 7635, Photogram, Richard Heeks, Science, Soap, The Bubble Nebula, Tomas Saraceno, Universe
0 comment Tuesday, April 29, 2014 | admin
This summer I graduatedfrom my Fine Art degree, and was eager to continue making photograms.I had no access to adarkroom, so I was overjoyed when I came across the fabulousStenoflex pin-hole camera at Fred Aldous, Manchester.
The Stenoflex materialsare packaged compactly inside the little black box that cleverlybecomes the pin-hole camera. When opening the Stenoflex, I was alittle worried that the photo-sensitive paper would be exposed tolight, but the photographic paper comes in its own handy little blackvelcro pouch.
Additional to the paperand box there is:
~ A red gel to coveryour light source, mimicking a traditional dark room light.
~ Developer & Fixer, both of which are labelled in French. Developer is labelled as"Revelateur" and fixer is labelled as "Fixateur".
~ Instructions in bothFrench & English.
To make photograms with the Stenoflex Pinhole Camera Kit you will need:
~ A torch to cover with the redgel to use as your dark room light while you are working. (I used aheadlamp from the pound shop and crudely gaffer-taped the gel on tothe torch making sure the red gel covered all of the light.)
~ 3 trays or bowls foryour developer, fixer and water. I bought a small plastic chest ofdesk drawers from the pound shop (again!) as I didn't want tocontaminate anything I use at home.
~ A light source whichyou can turn on and off again very easily i.e. lamp, torch, mainlight bulb.
~ A space that can bemade pitch black i.e. a cellar, shed, attic, bathroom (with windowscovered). This is very important, you shouldn't be able to seeanything unless you have your red-gel light on.
To Make A Photogram Use These Steps:Find something youwould like to make a photogram of. I used these objects: glassbeaker, dead leaves, soap bubbles, a �10 note, hair, nuts andbolts. The most fun part is experimentation and waiting to see whatit looks like as a photogram!
Assemble yourdeveloper, fixer and rinse trays and put them in to your make-shiftdark room. Switch on your red gel light.
Take your foundobjects in to your darkroom along with your photo-sensitive paperand torch / lamp which should be switched off at this point.
Make sure yourdarkroom is only lit by your red gel lamp, and then remove one pieceof paper from its pouch, making sure to close the pouch afterwardsso that you don't expose the whole pack!
Find a flatsurface and position your found objects on top of thephoto-sensitive paper.
Grab your lightsource (torch, lamp), hold directly over the paper and switch on for1-2 seconds. Your found object is blocking the light from reachingthe paper, and this is how your image is "printed" on to thepaper.
Develop, rinse andfix as normal.This technique willmost likely require a little trial and error, but you can work outhow much light you need to use by looking at your photogram after ithas been fixed.
If your fixed photogramhas gone white it is under-exposed.You have not used enough light oryour found object is blocking too much light from the paper.
If your fixed photogramhas gone black it is over-exposed. Too much light has reached thepaper, or your object isn't blocking enough light.
Here are my results:
Found Object: Soap Bubble blown directly on to photo-sensitive paper.
Found Object: Soap Bubble blown directly on to photo-sensitive paper.
Found Object:Dead Leaves
Found Object: Dead Leaves
Found Object: Glass PaperweightSee more of my photograms at Melaniek.Co.Uk
Labels: Artist, Britain, Bubbles, Camera, Cameraless Photography, Chemistry, England, Fred Aldous, Home, Leaves, Manchester, Melanie K, Photogram, Pinhole, Science, Soap Bubble, Stenoflex, Uk, United Kingdom
0 comment Tuesday, April 15, 2014 | admin
Pierre Cordier is the inventor of the "Chemigram" and a Cliche Verre practitioner.Cordiers' definition of "Chemigram" means "to write with chemistry".
To make a Chemigram you would paint with various chemicals (Cordier used nail polish, egg, varnish, wax and oil amongst other materials), expose to light and then develop as usual.
(When using this technique myself, I found painting directly on to photosensitive paper to be problematic, as the developing chemicals get muddy. Painting on to a transparent material first would prevent this.)
The chemigram has such artistic potential, so many materials could be used to paint with.
Additionally, the painting does not need to be "stuck", a transparent container could be used to try lots of compositions with interesting chemicals.
The V & A has published a great video about Pierre Cordier and his invention, as he was part of the "Shadow Catchers" exhibition.
It is interesting to learn that though the photography world welcomed Cordier with open arms, he is still yet to be accepted as a painter.
To make a Chemigram you would paint with various chemicals (Cordier used nail polish, egg, varnish, wax and oil amongst other materials), expose to light and then develop as usual.
(When using this technique myself, I found painting directly on to photosensitive paper to be problematic, as the developing chemicals get muddy. Painting on to a transparent material first would prevent this.)
The chemigram has such artistic potential, so many materials could be used to paint with.
Additionally, the painting does not need to be "stuck", a transparent container could be used to try lots of compositions with interesting chemicals.
The V & A has published a great video about Pierre Cordier and his invention, as he was part of the "Shadow Catchers" exhibition.
It is interesting to learn that though the photography world welcomed Cordier with open arms, he is still yet to be accepted as a painter.
Labels: Cameraless Photography, Chemigram, Chemistry, Paint, Painting, Photogram, Photography, Pierre Cordier, Shadowcatchers Exhibition, Victoria And Albert Museum