Tag: Photo Transfers

Digital Image Transfer and Mixed Media Workshop

That’s right people…I’m teaching a Digital Image Transfer and Mix Media Workshop February 11th and 12th at The Studios of Key West!!  And if ya didn’t know already, I’m pretty stoked about it!!

In this unique two-day workshop, participants will learn the techniques of digital image transferring while creating distinctive, one-of-a kind prints onto a variety of surfaces, including wood, metal foils, and fine art papers.  Day two takes the initial results further with the incorporation of mixed media including watercolors, oil paints and encaustic wax. This hands-on workshop is for artists and photographers seeking more creative options for their imagery. Emphasis is on exploration and experimentation.

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Results of day 1 image transfers onto a variety of art papers.

 

I test drove this workshop a few weeks back with some good friends and got some really great results!  Many thanks to Jen Bull Wood and Christi George for helping me fine tune the experience that is coming to TSKW this February!

 

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With the images above, Jen first distressed the transfer film before transferring it onto watercolor paper.  She then hand colored the image with water color pencils and dipped it into encaustic wax.

 

 

 

For the following images, Christi used a white transfer solution to release her image onto a metal foil substrate.  She then added encaustic wax and paints, and applied oil pastels into scraped limbs details of this tree.

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On Day 1, Jen first distressed and then transferred this awesome image of her son Silas onto tissue paper.  Day 2, she took that image, attached it to a canvas and encased it with encaustic wax and paints.

 

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And finally, this last image…a happy surprise.  When Jen transferred this image to tissue paper, it bled onto the craft paper underneath it…totally unintentional….love it’s soft focus and ghostly feel!

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Click HERE For more information on the workshop I will be teaching at TSKW on February 11th and 12th from 10am-4pm.

I am also teaching an Image Transfer Class for Kids on Saturday February 13th from 10am-12pm.

 

Photo transfer onto tile by Jeneva Lindsey.

Photo Transfer Workshop FUN!

Just a few shorts weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being a Guest Artist for Louisville Visual Art’s Studio 2000 at Shawnee’s Art and Cultural Center, where I led a photo transfer workshop!  Studio 2000 is a competitive eight week visual art program for teenagers.  Students have the opportunity to work with professional artists in clay, fiber & mixed media…so it was a true honor to introduce photography to the mix of mediums with a hands-on technique that broadens the horizon of what a photograph can be!  One of the many cool things about this program is that students actually get paid to create work during this 8 week program.  The culmination of this work can be viewed at The Studio 2000 Annual Exhibition and Sale this Thursday, August 6th from 5-7pm at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts!!  Proceeds from the sale are returned to Studio 2000 for future programming.  Click here to learn more about the exhibition with images of what will be available for purchase August 6th.  You’ll be sure to see me there!!!!

Photo transfers has played a huge role in my work in the past few years and have allowed me to ‘print’ onto wood, metal, tile, and canvas.  In some cases the photo transfer is the first layer I work with…oftentimes, it’s the last layer…and sometimes it’s BOTH!  There are so many ways to create photographic transfers, but since this was a 2 hour workshop, I decided to largely focus on Acrylic Gel Photo Transfers.

So grateful to work with participating students of Studio 2000! Photo by Sunny Ra.

Acrylic gel transfers are super easy with a pleasantly short materials list. Here’s what we used:

– acrylic gel medium*
– brush
-sponge and water
– scissors (in case trimming is necessary)
– an image to transfer**

*notes on the gel:
The beauty of this technique lies in the nature of the acrylic – you can adjust and modify the gel to suit your needs.  For this workshop we used Golden’s Soft Gel Gloss Medium…but any clear acrylic medium works.

**notes on the image:
Any image can be used for transferring, but not all transfer the same…to ensure a good transfer, use an image that is printed in reverse from a laser printer at a copy shop…ink-jet prints generally don’t work.  You definitely want to print in reverse if your image is text dependent.

The process is simple.  Trim photocopy to leave little or no border.  Brush an even layer of gel over the surface of canvas, wood or substrate of choice.  Place photocopy face down into the wet gel and burnish softly with popsicle stick…allow to dry completely.  Once dry, use a damp sponge to gently wet the transfer.  Begin rubbing away the paper backing.  Working in soft circular motions, wipe away paper as you go…adding small amounts of water as needed until the image is revealed.

 

Voilà!  Simple and successful…just like this workshop!  Thank you to Sunny Ra, Ehren Reed, Studio 2000 and LVA for inviting my participation!  Looking forward to the exhibition on Thursday!!

jz