Week 6: Furthering Wood Photoprints

Week 6: In our Photography II Class, we are focusing on advancing our skills in articulating our ideas and visions into compelling and aesthetically pleasing photographs. Last week, we used a method that our instructor introduced to transfer printed photographs onto wood. This week, we are continuing with the process having learned much more in the way of what was successful and what was not. The photos above are the selected pieces I have chosen to illustrate the work I have done this week for the class.

Craft: The Craft of this assignment is the following: Digital SLR Camera (Canon E05 Rebel T5i), a computer, previously taken printed photographs, wood blocks )5.5 in x 5.5 in), transparent acrylic gel, and tape. I used these resources to create the images above. As this was more about the physical objects rather than the images I took, the craft revolved around the wood block and the acrylic gel.

Composition: In this class, we were tasked with taking our images, i.e. our photos we have taken and transfer them onto wood blocks. Instead of going about it with whatever wood we found, we were given five wood squares which were quite thin. To compensate for the thinness so that the word would not bulge or distort, we would have to use both sides at the same time to counterbalance each other. I had never heard of this sort of method of photo transfer before last week and as a result, my results and process were less than stellar. However, this week, having gained new knowledge of the process have improved my technique. What we had to do first was print out our images onto plain paper. The reason for this is that the toner cannot be transferred off glossy paper due to the glossy surface acting as a seal. Next, we prepared the wood media for the photo transfer. We made sure to get the highest quality wood we could find. It had to be smooth since anything rough would warp the image and give us unsatisfactory results. After that, we cut the images to the appropriate sizes for the wood blocks and applied a clear acrylic gel. This would act as the means of transfer. I taped the edges around one block so as to create a border. Once the first layer was dry, I made another layer of the gel, smooth as the previous. Then I applied the image, using a plastic card to smooth any air pockets. After twenty-four hours, I wet the paper and rubbed off the pulp, leaving behind only the acrylic layer beneath.

Concept: In this project, we were tasked with transferring images onto wood and other surfaces using an acrylic gel. I had never heard of this method before last week and was eager to try it out. While it seemed daunting at first, the process itself was very simple and easy to achieve. As we were asked by our professor to create show-worthy pieces, we had to be meticulous and mindful. As we were given five wood squares to use, we had much more room to experiment and try new things. Woodprints are a very old and storied means of images capturing and to be part of that long-running tradition was rewarding.