I have decided that I would like to manually make some limited edition wet prints for my Resurrection art piece. Although I like Giclee very much, it is a more authentic and beautiful step to directly create prints from the ground up.
So, I have been developing an edition plan for the print:
1st Edition: Cyantotype Contact Prints (around 10-20)
2nd Edition: Silver Gelatin Prints Large (perhaps 10-15 at 16×20)
3rd Edition: Chrysotype Contact Prints (maybe 5)
The above really depends on how fast I can produce, family commitments, and interest. I may end up producing far less. Print making is a long process in terms of exposure, toning, mistakes, etc, so the above really are just upper estimates of best possible scenario. If I can source the darkroom early enough, I may move onto silver prints before I finish cyanotypes.
I may choose to include a few Giclees, dependant on the toning colours I manage to produce, as, at the moment, I quite like the color version of the print with its reds and blues. As the above are all black and white process, I am unsure at the moment how close I will be able to replicate the red and blue Resurrection art image using these processes.
My guess is that I will achieve something close to the following for the first couple of cyanotypes, with something like tea or coffee toning:
Depending on appearance/success, I may move on to perhaps a two or three tone cyanotype, a process explained by Jo Bind here. It’s possible that I may be able to achieve a red, blue, and perhaps subtle white print using that process, although madder root will be difficult to source.
Other people in this space are Annette Golaz, who I will also be looking to for developing inspiration, and of course Mike Ware for all my chemistry needs. The alternative photography space really is alive and well.
For the silver gelatin prints, my main issue will be finding a darkroom with an enlarger that can work with 5×7.
For the Chrysotype, we are again looking at a contact print, but this time using gold. Very expensive to produce, this will be a very final step, and may rely on print sales from the other two print categories to see realisation.
For all processes, rather than creating a digital negative, I will be using the original negative with a 0.7mm PET film separator, to keep the chemicals away from the negative. This is also why I would like to move to the darkroom a little quicker, as I am nervous about negative damage before I create the enlarged prints. But we will see.
I am excited to be moving forward with these steps. Very much so. The unique dimension to each limited edition Resurrection print ensures that each piece will be an individual piece of art.
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