S&S W10 Plaster

I was looking for a way to transfer a print on plaster cast. The idea is to make a board with heights and transfer an image on it to have actual depth.

I think I wrote about this earlier with my first tests. I had laser prints and with the help of modge pod I glued them on the plaster. Then I removed the back of the paper so that you can see the print. Because glue is liquid, it was no longer possible to wet the plaster afterwards and to shape it as I hoped. Then I first formed the plaster and then placed a print on it. The image is difficult to recognize and it is difficult. Often whole parts of the photo break. No problem if that adds something to the image but that was not the case here.

I also tried to use transfer that is to make images on a t-shirt. But that also didn't work.

That's why I thought I could see if photographic processes could work. Because I have already worked with this cyanotype module, that is the first thing I am trying out. The chemicals react with the plaster leaving them yellow. This cannot be washed away. I have 3 tryouts of which only 1 is kind of dark enough. I have never made salt prints before but all the chemicals in the house are a good time to try that out too. Very good if I could combine the 2 processes; brown down for sand and stone and blue for water and air.

I made a very large landscape on canvas, when it was finished, that it would be better to first test it on somewhat smaller panels. So I made that too.

4 of the 6 test panels

The tests with cyanotypes do look better on the photo than in reality. The one in the middle has am image underneath that I half covert with the plaster.

the first 4 salt prints didn't look terrific.(one on paper the others on the plaster

It might be that the two processes together give good results but but I am not I am not convinced enough to give it a try

I had the images of the not yet used plaster cast plates and so I thought why not do it digitally. In photoshop is a filter displace that gives the posibility to strech an image around its edges.

First of all I tried 4 different images on the same canvas. Than I took different images for the smaller plates. I am very enthusiastic about this result. Some of them I will keep for this project.

Salt prints

Like I told you before, I had never done that. I had bought all the chemicals for that a few years ago so this is a good time to try it out. I dit heliogravures, bichromat gom, bromoil, kalitypes and cyanotypes before so I have a kind of idea what I have to do.

The idea is that you first bath paper for 3 minutes in salted water. Make sure you only wet 1 side. Oh yes and you have to use distilled water (I did not do that in the first experiments).

If the paper is dry (hang it up to dry) you smear it in a poorly lit room with silver that you have made with distilled water . Make sure you wear gloves and that your brush does not contain any metal parts that could cause a reaction. The more silver, more layers, the darker your print becomes. Allow to dry well in the dark.

Then illuminate in the sun. I used a photo frame with glass as a contact window.

Rinse with the image down, Initially allowing the photo to float on the water. Only then get thoroughly wet. Then fix it again and then rinse again. Front flushing is a long-term issue.

Left image before rinsing and fix; right after.

Drying; left with destilled salt water bath, right used normal water

4 results befor I used the distilled water for the salt bath.

You see that the colour is changing after every step; the print has to be dark purple. Rinsing and fix wil make them lighter and yellow/green-brown. and after drying it is a bit darker and brown.

Conclusion;

The original experiments didn't go well but I have results that I love and a new method to come there. Making saltprints takes a bit more practice but I can see images. I have 5 pages left for tomorrow.